12 - Chapter on the Construction of Mosques

448 - Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah ibn Sufyan narrated to us, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah informed us, from Sufyan al-Thawri, from Abu Fazara, from Yazid ibn al-Asamm, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I was not commanded to raise high the construction of mosques." Ibn 'Abbas said: "You will surely ornament them as the Jews and Christians ornamented [their places of worship]."

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(1) Its chain of transmission is authentic. Abu Fazara: he is Rashid ibn Kaysan.

It was also recorded by 'Abd al-Razzaq (5127), Ibn Hibban (1615), al-Tabarani (13000) and (13003), al-Bayhaqi 2/438-439, and al-Baghawi in "Sharh al-Sunnah" (463) via two chains from Abu Fazara, with this chain of transmission.

The marfu' portion only (i.e., the part attributed to the Prophet) was recorded by Abu Ya'la (2454), and al-Tabarani (13001) and (13002) via two chains from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, from Yazid ibn al-Asamm, with it.

The mawquf portion only (i.e., the part attributed to Ibn 'Abbas) was recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/309 via the chain of Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, with it.

It was also recorded by Ibn Majah (740) from Jubara ibn al-Mughallis, from 'Abd al-Karim ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Bajali, from Layth, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn 'Abbas, as a marfu' hadith: "I see that you will raise high your mosques after me, just as the Jews raised high their churches and the Christians raised high their places of worship."

Al-Baghawi said in "Sharh al-Sunnah" 2/349: What is meant by "tashyid" (raising high) is elevating the building and making it tall... And the saying of Ibn 'Abbas, "la-tuzakhrafunnaha" — with the fathah on the lam (which is the lam of oath), the dammah on the ta', the fathah on the zay, the sukun on the kha', the kasrah on the ra', the dammah on the fa', and the shaddah on the nun.

Al-Khattabi said: The meaning of his saying "la-tuzakhrafunnaha" is: you will surely adorn it. The origin of "zukhruf" is gold, meaning the gilding of mosques with gold and the like. From this derives the saying: "A man zakhrafa his speech," when he embellishes and adorns it with falsehood. The meaning is that the Jews and Christians only ornamented their places of worship when they distorted and altered [their scriptures] and abandoned acting upon what was in their books. He says: You will come to a state like theirs when you seek worldly gain through religion, abandon sincerity in deeds, and your affair becomes one of showing off with mosques and boasting in raising them high and adorning them.