The Quran

107

Preface

وَالَّذينَ اتَّخَذوا مَسجِدًا ضِرارًا وَكُفرًا وَتَفريقًا بَينَ المُؤمِنينَ وَإِرصادًا لِمَن حارَبَ اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ مِن قَبلُ ۚ وَلَيَحلِفُنَّ إِن أَرَدنا إِلَّا الحُسنىٰ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَشهَدُ إِنَّهُم لَكاذِبونَ

Yusuf Ali

And there are those¹ who put up a mosque by way of mischief and infidelity - to disunite the Believers - and in preparation for one² who warred against God and His Messenger aforetime. They will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good; But God doth declare that they are certainly liars.

Three categories of Hypocrites having already been mentioned (n. 1354), a fourth class of insidious evildoers is now mentioned, whose type is illustrated in the story of the “Mosque of mischief (dirar)”. When the Holy Prophet arrived at Medīna for Hijrat, he rested four days in Quba' before entering the town of Medīna. Here was built the first mosque, the “Mosque of Piety” (Taqwā). or the mosque of the power of Islam (Quwat al lslam), to which he frequently came during his subsequent stay in Medīna. Taking advantage of these sacred associations, some Hypocrites of the Tribe of Bani Ghanam built an opposition mosque in Dhu 'Awan, pretending to advance Islam. In reality they were in league with a notorious enemy of Islam, one Abū 'Amir, who had fought against Islam at Uḥud. When the Prophet learned of their duplicity on his return from the battle of Tabuk, he ordered two of his companions to destroy the mosque and burn it to the ground, (eds.)
Abū 'Amir, surnamed the Rahib (Monk), as he had been in touch with Christian monks. See last note.