At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
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Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
The builders of the Dirar mosque asked the Prophet ﷺ, as he prepared for Tabuk, to pray for them in the mosque they had built; he excused himself by the journey and deferred them to his return. The building is the Dirar mosque, and what came later is the demolition event.
The builders of the Dirar mosque came to the Prophet ﷺ while he was preparing for Tabuk and asked him to pray for them in the mosque they had built. Ibn Ishaq records them saying: 'We built a mosque for the sick and the needy and the rainy night and the wintry night, and we would love you to come and pray in it.' The Prophet excused himself — he was on the wing of a journey and busy, 'or as he said' — and if they returned, God willing, they would come and pray in it. The building is the Dirar mosque; what came later is its demolition, and the text does not say anyone was permitted to pray in it before the journey.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
The builders of the Dirar mosque came to the Prophet ﷺ while he was preparing for Tabuk and asked him to pray for them in the mosque they had built. Ibn Ishaq records that the Dirar mosque's people had come to the Prophet saying: 'We built a mosque for the sick and the needy and the rainy night and the wintry night, and we would love you to come and pray in it.' He said he was on the wing of a journey and busy — 'or as he said', Ibn Ishaq conveying the sense of the Prophet's words rather than their exact wording — and if they returned, God willing, they would come and pray in it. The building is the Dirar mosque, and what came later is the demolition event; the text does not say anyone was permitted to pray in it before the journey.
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.
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Connections
- Had participant
- Abbad ibn Hunayf· Abu Habiba ibn al-Az'ar· Bahzaj· Bijad ibn Uthman· Jariya ibn Amir· Khudham ibn Khalid· Mu'tib ibn Qushayr· Mujammi' ibn Jariya· Nabtal ibn al-Harith· Tha'laba ibn Hatib· Wadi'a ibn Thabit· Zayd ibn Jariya· The builders of Masjid al-Dirar· Muhammad
- 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-Dirar· Banu Dubay'a ibn Zayd· The demolition of Masjid al-Dirar· The expedition to Tabuk· Muhammad· al-Jadd ibn Qays asks leave to stay behind· A group of hypocrites mock the army, then excuse themselves· The 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. Last updated 2026-10-26.