The builders of the mosque ask the Prophet to pray in it
أصحاب المسجد يطلبون من النبي الصلاة فيه
October 630 CE · Rajab 9 AH
Shortly before marching to Tabuk, the people of the mosque they had built came to the Prophet saying they had built it for the sick and needy and for rainy and wintry nights, and asked him to pray in it for them; he put them off until his return.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Summary
The mosque's builders came to the Prophet while he was preparing for Tabuk and asked him to pray for them in a mosque they had built; he excused himself with the journey and put them off until his return. 1
The account
Ibn Ishaq said the people of the Dirar mosque had come to the Prophet as he prepared for Tabuk, saying: we have built a mosque for the sick and needy and for the rainy night and the wintry night, and we would love you to come and pray for us in it. 1
The Prophet's answer
He said: I am on the wing of a journey and a state of business — "or as he said" — and if God will, when we return we will come to you and pray for you in it. 1 The building is Masjid al-Dirar, and the report of what happened later is in the demolition event.
Source notes and markers of doubt
- "Or as he said" (p. 173): Ibn Ishaq conveys the sense of the Prophet's words, not their wording with certainty.
- The book's text does not say anyone was given leave to pray in the mosque before the journey.
Connections
- Had participant
- Abbad ibn HunayfAbu Habiba ibn al-Az'arBahzajBijad ibn UthmanJariya ibn AmirKhudham ibn KhalidMu'tib ibn QushayrMujammi' ibn JariyaNabtal ibn al-HarithTha'laba ibn HatibWadi'a ibn ThabitZayd ibn JariyaThe builders of Masjid al-DirarMuhammad
- Led to
- The demolition of Masjid al-Dirar
- Part of
- The expedition to Tabuk
- Occurred at
- Medina
People and things also explored
The builders of Masjid al-DirarBanu Dubay'a ibn ZaydThe demolition of Masjid al-DirarThe expedition to TabukMuhammadal-Jadd ibn Qays asks leave to stay behindA group of hypocrites mock the army, then excuse themselvesThe Prophet orders the people to prepare to fight the Byzantines
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/173
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The builders of the mosque ask the Prophet to pray in it”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/masjid-al-dirar-builders-ask-the-prophet-to-pray/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.