Building With Taqwa: Abu Bakr's Investment In Perpetual Charity

The Foundation of Masjid al-Nabawi: Lessons in Taqwa and Community

A lesson for the ummah: that when you're building a masjid, when you're building an organization, an institution, then do it in such a manner that nobody can point even half a finger at you later on. Nobody can point at Masjid al-Nabawi and say, "Oh, that land was stolen from two orphans." The hypocrites were there at that time. And people who make these comments will always exist throughout time. So the Prophet ﷺ is teaching us: do things in such a beautiful manner, with ihsan, with perfection, such that nobody can accuse you later on, nobody can make claims against you later on.

Imagine a person builds a masjid on zakat funds, or even worse, on interest money. How much trouble he will end up with in the future. As lucrative as it may seem at the moment, later on it will definitely be destructive.

We want masajid —

The foundation has to be upon taqwa, upon righteousness. So the Prophet ﷺ insisted on paying these two orphans, Sahl and Suhayl رضي الله عنهما. After negotiating a price, they settled on ten dinars — ten gold coins.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq's Extraordinary Investment

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه came forward immediately — as always, he was always ready. Anytime there was any need for deen, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was at the forefront. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه came on this occasion as well and said, "O Prophet ﷺ, I will give those ten dinars."

You cannot even begin to imagine what an investment Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه made that day. Imagine all of the khair, all of the goodness, everything that happened in Masjid al-Nabawi, everything that took place during the era, the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ. Every single salah, every single khatm of the Qur'an, every verse, every letter of the Qur'an that was recited, all of the salawat and the salam upon the Prophet ﷺ — all of the goodness, the reward for all of that will be in the mizan, in the scale of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه on the Day of Judgment.

Not just at that time, but throughout history, till the present day — till today — every single year, millions upon millions upon millions of Muslims continue to visit Masjid al-Nabawi al-Sharif. And all of the khair, everything that is taking place there, the reward for all of it is going back to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. What an investment he made. We should also look for these types of opportunities when we can make such an investment for our akhirah.

That long after we have gone, long after we have left this world, reward continues to come to us, continues to benefit us in our graves. This is what the Prophet ﷺ taught us about sadaqatul jariyya — that charity which is perpetual, that even after you have gone, you continue to reap the reward for it.

Sadaqah Jariyyah: Three Deeds That Outlive You

As the hadith mentions:

When a person passes away, then all of his deeds come to an end. Now he wants to pray salah — he can't pray salah. Now he wants to recite Qur'an — he can't recite Qur'an. But there are three actions that the Prophet ﷺ told us about that will continue to benefit a person even while he is resting in the qabar, in the grave:

Number one: Sadaqatul jariyya — perpetual charity. Donating to a cause that will outlive you.

Number two: وَعِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ — knowledge from which benefit continues to be taken. You teach somebody, they teach somebody else, teach the next person, the next generation. All of that reward continues to come back to you.

Number three: أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ — a pious child who continues to make du'a for you.

So Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was such an intelligent investor that he invested in Masjid al-Nabawi by purchasing that land from Sahl and Suhayl رضي الله عنهما. And his reward is such that all of the khair, all of the goodness that takes place there, all of that reward continues to reach him, continues to benefit him up until the present day, until the Day of Qiyamah.

Every Hand in the Construction: The Prophet ﷺ as Community Leader

Thereafter, once the land was purchased, the Prophet ﷺ involved every single member of his community. They had to level out the land — there were some graves there, they had to level it out. There were some trees in the middle of the structure, in the middle of the land — they had to cut those trees, they had to build the walls, the roof, everything. The Prophet ﷺ used every single individual.

There were some sahaba, the likes of Talq ibn Ali رضي الله عنه, who was very good at mixing the mortar and making the bricks. So the Prophet ﷺ stationed him to make those bricks. He asked, "O Prophet ﷺ, should I also come and carry the bricks and place them?" He said, "No, other people will do that. Your responsibility is just to mix the mortar and to make the bricks."

There were some companions who were not good at construction — they had no experience in the field. But the Prophet ﷺ used them as well, and he gave them a task to do. Uthman ibn Maz'un رضي الله عنه is a prime example of this. He was somebody who was very particular about cleanliness. Construction was not his thing. But the Prophet ﷺ told him, "O Uthman, your responsibility is to carry the bricks. You're not going to be making the bricks, but you're going to carry the bricks and bring them to the other companions who will then place them and put them together."

So it is mentioned in the narrations that Uthman رضي الله عنه would carry the bricks at a distance from his body, because he didn't want any of the dust, any of the dirt to get onto his clothing. And anytime if even a little bit of dust got onto his clothes, he would put the brick down, dust himself off, and then pick it up again and move on. The other companions were amused by this.

Bilal رضي الله عنه said:

He said that today the two individuals cannot be equal — the one who is actively working and trying to help in the construction of the masjid, and the other individual who is qa'id, who is just sitting, relaxing. These two individuals cannot be equal. Today is the day to actually get yourself dusty. Normally we want to keep ourselves clean, but now when you're building the masjid, it's good for some dust to get onto your clothing.

The Prophet ﷺ Works Alongside His Companions

As the sahaba رضي الله عنهم were working, the Prophet ﷺ was also working with them. He wasn't a leader who just sat back and relaxed while everyone else worked. No — rather the Prophet ﷺ himself was also actively involved in the construction of Masjid al-Nabawi. He himself participated in carrying the bricks, placing the bricks, and so on and so forth.

And as they were working — as it was customary amongst the Arabs, that they would recite poetry — the sahaba رضي الله عنهم were saying:

They said: "If we are going to sit whilst the Prophet ﷺ is working so hard, then all of our good deeds are going to be wasted." Look at how hard the Prophet ﷺ is toiling for the construction of the masjid — we have to join in as well.

And the Prophet ﷺ in turn was making du'a for these individuals:

"O Allah, there is no life except for the life of the akhira — that is the real and the true life. O Allah, these muhajirun and ansar who are working so hard — O Allah, You forgive them for all of their sins, for all of their shortcomings."

So together, as a community, they built the masjid.

The Masjid Belongs to the Entire Community

Here again is a very important lesson that we derive: the masjid is supposed to be the center place of the entire community. It is supposed to be a place where everyone can come and feel welcome. We have this custom today which is unfortunately growing — "this is a Pakistani masjid, this is a Turkish masjid, this is a Bosnian masjid." But no, that defeats the spirit of our masajid.

Our masajid are supposed to be open to everyone, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of nationality, regardless of color, regardless of language. Whoever comes should feel welcome, should feel at home. This is the shi'ar — this is one of the khususiyat, one of the specialties of the Muslims.

You take a Muslim who is living here in Chicago and you send him to Japan, you send him to China, you send him to Australia — he can walk into any masjid and he will hear the same greeting of salam, he will hear the same adhan, he will hear the same salah, the same tilawat of the Qur'an. This is something specific to the Muslims. You look at the other faiths and other denominations — they will only go to their center. A Christian will go to his particular church; that's where he knows his people, his community, his leaders. You take him and put him in a church down the road, he'll feel like a total foreigner. But with our masajid, you can go to any masjid, and regardless of where you go, you will always feel welcome.

So the Prophet ﷺ created this spirit by engaging everyone — to the extent of Uthman ibn Maz'un رضي الله عنه, who had no experience in construction. Construction wasn't his thing, but even him — the Prophet ﷺ gave him a role, such that nobody feels left out in the construction and the development of Masjid al-Nabawi.

The Simplicity of Masjid al-Nabawi

Now the masjid itself was very simple. There was no chandelier, there was no dome, there were no minarets, nothing fancy. They had built it with their own hands. It is mentioned in the narrations that when it would rain, the roof would leak — because the roof was made out of branches and leaves — and the entire floor would become muddy. There was no carpet, nothing. So when the Prophet ﷺ would make sajda, the sahaba would say, "We would see the traces of the mud on the blessed forehead of the Prophet ﷺ." Such a simple structure.

In the narration of Sahih Muslim, if a person riding a horse wasn't careful enough to stop his horse in time, the horse would jump into the masjid — because of how low the wall was. So this was the type of structure that they built. A very, very simple structure.

But what made Masjid al-Nabawi so special was the people therein:

In that masjid you had individuals who were dedicated to the deen — people who had given their lives, sacrificed everything for the sake of Allah. That is what made that masjid so special. And that is the value of any masjid. Any masjid is not about the structure — how fancy it is, how much money has gone into the architecture and whatnot. What gives the masjid value is the people therein. If you have ulama, you have scholars, you have people who are regular — always participating in the prayers, in the activities of the masjid — this is what gives a masjid its value. This is what gave Masjid al-Nabawi the value that it has.

Masajid in America: A Century of Growth

Alhamdulillah, my dear friends, this sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ — of establishing masajid wherever he went, be it Quba', be it Madinah — this is something which has been continued on throughout the decades, throughout the centuries. Wherever Muslims have gone, they have always established the houses of Allah. In our country, just about a hundred years ago is when you had the development of the first masjid.

The first masjid built on American soil was in a small town on the western side of North Dakota — it's called Ross, Ross, North Dakota. In the early 1900s, you had our brothers and sisters from Syria who came and settled there, and they built the first masjid on American soil. That is the Umm al-Masajid — that is the mother of all masajid in this country. And from there, in just over a hundred years, you see how many hundreds of masajid have been built all across the country.

Alhamdulillah, today, it doesn't matter whatever state you visit — every state, every city — you will find not one, but multiple masajid. And this is the mercy of Allah. The masjid is a magnet which attracts the mercy of Allah. It is a place which keeps the entire mahalla, the entire community, safe from problems, safe from calamities. So we need more masajid to be established wherever we go.

A Call to Support the Islamic Foundation of Lincoln, Nebraska

Today we are fortunate — we have our brothers who have come all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska, a small town in the state of Nebraska. I was there about three weeks ago. That masjid, mashaAllah, is very beautiful — but it is a very small masjid, which is not sufficient for the needs of the community. I was there for Salatul Jumu'ah. They had about a thousand people who came that day. It was extremely cold outside, probably in the teens, it was snowing. And the masjid was overfull — the entire hall was full, the lobby area was full, every conference room, every closet, whatever space they had, they opened up, and you had people praying everywhere. And even that wasn't sufficient.

So they had the chita'is, the mats outside, and there were people who were performing their Salatul Jumu'ah outside in the snow. We spoke about how the Prophet ﷺ would get up with mud on his face — these people were getting up with snow and water on their faces. It was snowing, extremely cold.

So they are in desperate need of expanding their masjid so that people have a place to come to offer their salat, to offer their Jumu'ah, their Ramadan Taraweeh, and so on. They've come here soliciting our help today. Alhamdulillah, they were very generous with our community three weeks ago, helping us and our center. So today it is our turn to also help them.

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ — The believers are brothers. We help one another; they helped us. Now let us also take the opportunity of helping them — donating whatever we can towards this expansion of the Islamic Foundation of Lincoln, Nebraska. They have a booth over here in the back and another one outside. I encourage everyone that after salat, as you're heading out, whatever you can give — be it a thousand, be it five hundred, be it one hundred, be it twenty dollars — no amount is too small.

InshaAllah, whatever khair, whatever goodness takes place in that masjid till the Day of Judgment — all of that reward will come back to us. Remember the Prophet ﷺ said:

That individual who will build a masjid for the sake of Allah in this world, Allah will build for him a palace in paradise.

May Allah make that a reality for all of us. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.

جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا، وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

InshaAllah, tonight after Salatul Isha, we'll have a special program in regards to preparing for Umrah by Mufti Azimuddin Ahmed. Everyone is kindly requested to join.

As we mentioned, the Islamic Center of Lincoln (IFL), Nebraska is visiting us today. They are asking for our help in expanding the masjid. Kindly see the table on your way out and donate generously.

Sisters' Programs: We have various programs being offered for the sisters — Riyadh al-Salihin class, Wednesdays 12–1 p.m.; Part-time Hifz, Monday to Friday, four hours per week; Sisters' Urdu Tafseer on Wednesdays from 2–3 p.m., now online; and Sisters' bi-weekly Seerah series. These are all taught by experienced female scholars.

Starting tomorrow morning, we have our annual winter intensive, which will be taking place with regards to the history and the development of the four madhhabs. A special program for the brothers, as well as the sisters, as well as the youth — both boys and girls. So I humbly request everyone to please come and participate in this three-day program: tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. Our brothers who are visiting from all across the country — many have driven very far, 18 hours, 20 hours — just to be here for this program. So all of us who live around here in the Chicagoland area, I encourage all of us to come with our families and to benefit from the program, starting tomorrow after Fajr through Monday Isha.

Du'a Requests: Please make du'a for our brother Abdul Hakim, who passed away. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus. And for our dear brother Farooq Mirza, who will be undergoing cancer surgery on the 23rd — we make du'a that Allah allows the operation to be successful and allows him to live cancer-free, removes all the cancer. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.

Likewise, we make du'a for the entire ummah — those who are sick, may Allah grant them shifa' kamilah. And those who have passed away, may Allah grant them Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.