Translation
There are those who built a mosque to cause harm, create doubt in faith, cause disunity among the faithful and to host him who declared war against God and His Messenger in the past. They will swear by it that they mean nothing but good whereas God bear His Own witness that they are clearly telling a lie. You shall never stand in it! A mosque built on the foundation of God consciousness and accountability from the beginning is more suitable for you to stand in—in it are people who are driven to cleans themselves (and to grow spiritually). God loves those who wish to cleanse (and grow)! 446
Who is better—one who lays his/her foundation on God consciousness, a deep sense of accountability and strives for God’s grace or the one who lays his foundation on the edge of a crumbling river bank, bound to break apart with him into the fire of their evil consequence [hell]? God does not afford guidance to people who are corrupt and unjust! The institution which they have built will become a source of disquiet in their hearts till their hearts are broken to total dismay. God Knows and He is Wise! 447
Interpretation
446 One of the striking aspects of the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet—which in itself is a practical demonstration of how to make God’s guidance relevant in our lives—is that one finds issues and challenges that continue to reoccur throughout human history and how to address them in a holistic manner. A competing mosque was built near the mosque of Quba, situated on the outskirts of Madinah, by the followers of Abu Amir, from the tribe of Bani Ghanam, who was a sworn enemy of the Prophet and wanted nothing but to destroy his leadership and his new community of faithful. It is recorded in the historical narrative of the Prophet’s life that Abu Amir never accepted the Prophet and his leadership in Madinah, collaborated with Quraish to fight against the Prophet, and even went to the court of the emperor of Byzantine, at that time the most powerful empire in the area, to stir up opposition and secure assistance to fight against the Prophet. Abu Amir apparently instigated his followers, while himself in self-imposed exile in Syria, to build this mosque to cause division among the Muslims, question the leadership of the Prophet, and infuse doubt in faith in God.
While the Prophet, out of the goodness of his heart, was willing to accept this mosque as a place of worship and godliness, God declared that such overture, though well intended, would be inappropriate since the foundation of this mosque by Abu Amir was built on a foundation of deceit and to corrupt people with false narratives about faith and goodness. In many ways we find, though unfortunately in our contemporary world, that many mainstream churches, mosques, temples, and other places of worship teach and practice evil things in the name of God and religion. The widespread sexual abuse cases and the lack of accountability and transparency in the Catholic Church and papal institution make people question their faith in God and human goodness. The hateful rhetoric of some imams and sheikhs from the pulpit who justify the evils of ISIS and Al-Qaeda and coerce people to believe and accept corrupt regimes in many Muslim countries are telling examples that God certainly denounces, as evident from this verse.
447 There are people who claim faith but corrupt their faith with evil practices and deny people the freedom of conscience to question their faith, debate, learn, and grow spiritually, which is what all prophets have done and encouraged. In parallel we also see that communities and Communist nations that deny God and faith and claim to serve human causes are the worst perpetrators and abusers of human dignity and human freedom, as they greatly curtail political discourse, abuse minorities and religious communities, and perpetuate authoritarian regimes that flout the essence of human dignity and human spirit. God’s stance and the stance of people of faith and human goodness is very clear from these verses: we need to fight for truth and justice against anyone who does injustice and brings corruption, whether it is done in the name of corrupted faith or a competing ideology devoid of any faith.
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REFLECTION
Examples like these verses allude to provide living examples of how to deal with religious and political corruptions that are becoming a mainstay around the world. Other dimensions that are added in our world today are economic corruption, which is causing widespread income inequality, and the destruction of our environment, which is negatively impacting billions of people.
ACTION
God’s uncompromising stance against all forms of corruption, as evident here and throughout the Qur’an, should inspire us to act now and be constantly vigilant against such religious, political, and economic corruptions. Globalization is good and should be encouraged so that we can connect as a common human race, a destiny proclaimed by God Himself— “Indeed mankind is all but one nation.” But if we do not manage this migration toward unity, the result could be more fragmentation, as is already evident by resurgent of nationalism and racism in our own country here in the United States, in Europe, and in other parts of the world. We can ill afford such outcomes. People of faith and goodness need to act as we question our level of social consciousness and reevaluate our personal accountability toward ourselves and to God. God’s call is very clear: “O mankind, you must strive hard towards your Cherisher God (with truth and justice) until you come face to face with Him” (84:6). How would we defend ourselves in front of God for such negligence, while suffering through the consequences in this life as well?