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The excellence of the Masjid
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The earth as a Masjid
Allah the Exalted has conferred a special blessing upon this ummah - that is, the whole earth has been declared a mosque for it. Therefore, when the time for prayer comes, a Muslim may pray wherever he may be. Abu Dharr asked the Prophet  , "What was the first mosque on the earth?" He said: "The Masjid al-Haram [in Makkah]." Abu Dharr asked: "which is the next oldest mosque?" The Prophet sallallahu alehi wassalam said: "The al-Aqsa Mosque." Abu Dharr asked: "How much time was there between [the building of the two]." The Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam replied: "Forty years." Then, he said: "Wherever you may be, at the time of salah, you may pray for it [the earth] is all a mosque." This is related by the group.
The excellence of building masjids
'Uthman (radiAllahu anhu) reports that the Prophet said:
"Whoever builds for Allah a mosque, seeking by it Allah's grace, Allah will build for him a house in paradise."
[sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim]
Ibn 'Abbas reports that the Prophet said:
"Whoever builds for Allah a mosque, even if it be tiny, like a bird's nest, Allah will build for him a house in paradise."
[Ahmad, ibn Hibban, al-Bazzar - Sahih]
The Three most excellent mosques
Jabir reports that the Messenger of Allah said:
"Prayer in the inviolable mosque [in Makkah] is like 100,000 prayers [elsewhere]. And prayers in my mosque [in Medinah] is like one thousand prayers [elsewhere]. And a prayer in Bait al-Maqdis [in Jerusalem] is like five hundred prayers [elsewhere].
[al-Baihaqi, as-Sayuti]
Ahmad records that the Messenger of Allah said:
"Offering salah in my mosque is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere, save for those offered in the inviolable mosque. And salah in the inviolable mosque is better than salah in my mosque by one hundred prayers."
The Prophet said
"One should not undertake a journey, save to three mosques: the inviolable mosque [in Makkah], my mosque here [in Medinah], and Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem]."
[This is related by the group]
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