وَأَنَّ المَساجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلا تَدعوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
And that the places of worship belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah.
EXEGESIS
Masājid is the plural of masjid or masjad, which means a place where the act of prostration is performed. The term has its origin in the root sujūd which implies placing the forehead on the earth. However, some grammarians are of the view that the term sujūd originally denotes to bend and lower oneself which then came to be gradually used in the case of humbling oneself before God. When a camel lowers its head for the rider to ascend on its back, this is expressed in Arabic as sajada al-baʿīr. The term sujūd in Islamic law refers specifically to the famous pillar in the Islamic prayer (ṣalāh) which is the act of humbling oneself before God by prostrating on the earth. The term masjid (pl. masājid) is a proper noun for the designated places of worship in Islam – mosques – and has appeared in this sense in the Quran in 2:187, 9:17-18, and 22:40. Nonetheless, masājid is also used in Arabic to denote the seven parts of the human body that touch the ground during prostration.
As to the meaning of the word masājid in the verse under discussion, the majority of exegetes appear to hold that the term refers to places designated for worship in different religions, including churches and synagogues. However, the term seems to have occurred here not to refer only to places specifically designated for worship, but to also signify any place on earth where God is adorned through prostration. Masjid al-Ḥarām in the holy city of Mecca is the most complete instance of this meaning, followed by other mosques. In a more general sense, all places where people stand for prayer and prostrate before God therein come under the term masājid. Based on the famous narration from the Holy Prophet, ‘The earth has been made for me a place of prostration and a means of purity’, the term includes all places on the face of the earth.
Tadʿū is the imperfect tense of the verb daʿā that literally means to call or to summon. The verb also means in Arabic to invoke and ask for help and has been used in this sense in the Quran in verses such as 2:68 and 39:8. The term duʿāʾ in the Islamic tradition refers to calling upon God and invoking Him. The verb daʿā, nonetheless, also signifies to invite, and has appeared in the Quran in this meaning in 12:33. The verb has been used in the Quran to also mean worshipping, such as in 25:77, as well as in the verse under discussion. In other words, the verse currently under discussion exhorts those who have professed belief in God not to associate anyone with Him in places of worship.
EXPOSITION
This verse is related to the opening verse of this surah through conjunction. It thus reads as: Say: ‘It has been revealed to me that the places of worship belong to God, so do not invoke anyone along with God.’
The verse generally emphasises upon monotheism, and calls upon mankind, especially those who believe in God and the message of Prophet Muhammad (s), to worship God alone and to mention only Him in places of worship. This is because these places belong to God alone and as such He alone deserves to be mentioned and worshipped therein. According to the Quran, places of worship are sites where people remind themselves of God and divine values: Had not Allah repulsed the people from one another, ruin would have befallen the monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s name is mentioned greatly (22:40).
Mosques as symbols of monotheism in Islam should not preach anything but the word of God and invite mankind to His obedience and worship. This verse is a divine command to the Prophet and the Muslims that they ought to guard these monotheistic centres lest they adopt pre-Islamic norms of the polytheists who used to ascribe partners to God inside Masjid al-Ḥarām, or lest they become like churches and other places of worship where God’s creatures are mentioned at par with God.
As the whole earth is a place for prostration according to a prophetic narration, it hence entirely belongs to God and is His property alone. This is also confirmed by such verses in the Quran as To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth (3:189). It would hence be a grave deviation to worship and serve other than God within His sovereignty.
The concept of places of worship (masājid) can be extended to include those parts of the human body that touch the ground during prostration, as it has appeared in a narration from Imam al-Jawād (a). As they are exclusive of God, it does not behove man to use these parts to prostrate before other than God. According to this interpretation, God’s sole possession of the seven bodily parts in particular would be justified on the basis of legislation (tashrīʿ), otherwise everything belongs to Him ontologically. Moreover, it would be more appropriate in this case to interpret the verb tadʿū as referring either to the act of prostration (sajdah) as the most manifest instance of worshipping God, or to the prayer (ṣalāh), as it involves prostration. As such, the verse would read: It has been revealed to me that the parts of prostration are exclusive to God, so prostrate before Him through them and do not humble yourself before other than Him.
To worship God sincerely is to adhere to His command and uphold divine values in the different avenues of life. The focus of the verse on places of worship in general and mosques in particular suggests the role of mosques in Islam in establishing God’s rule on earth by inviting Muslims to stand for the laws of God in individual, social, economic, and political arenas of their lives. God enjoins justice and equity and one of the aims of all prophets in history was to promote justice in human society, as attested by 57:25. However, the hub of justice and the training centre for it is the mosque; and it is on this basis that God has directed humankind towards the mosque: Say: ‘My Lord has enjoined justice,’ and [He has enjoined]: ‘Set your heart [on Him] at every mosque’ (7:29). Deviation of mosques from the message of truth would result in the deviation of society from the path of God. This verse may be linked to verses 16 and 17 of this surah, in that it highlights the influence of the mosque – as an institution – in creating and maintaining the spirit of perseverance in a community and in preventing it from turning away from God.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- In a lengthy report, Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā narrates that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) performed sajdah by eight parts: both palms, both knees, both toes, the forehead, and the tip of the nose. He then said: ‘Prostrating by seven parts is mandatory; these are the ones God has mentioned in His book: the places of worship belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah; they are the forehead, two palms, two knees, and two toes; placing the tip of the nose on the ground is supererogatory (sunnah).’
- As part of a long narration, Yūnus ibn Yaʿqūb narrates that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Damned, damned is he who does not revere the mosque (masjid). O Yūnus, do you know why Allah has raised the position of the masjid and revealed this verse: And that the places of worship belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah? [It is because] when the Jews and the Christians went to their places of worship, they would associate partners with Allah, the Almighty; so He, the immaculate, the Almighty, commanded His Prophet to declare His oneness in the masjid and worship Him [alone therein].’
- Zurqān, a close associate of Ibn Abī Duʾād (the chief justice of Muʿtaṣim, the Abbasid caliph), reports that one day Ibn Abī Duʾād came back from the court of Muʿtaṣim while he was upset. ‘So I enquired about the reason and he said: “Today I wished I had died some twenty years ago.” I asked him as to why did he wish so and he said: “Due to what transpired today in the court of the commander of the believers, Muʿtaṣim, because of this dark-complexioned man, Abū Jaʿfar Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Mūsā.” When I asked him what had happened, he said: “A man confessed to have committed theft and requested the caliph to absolve him of it by enforcing on him the divine punishment specified in the shariah. The caliph thus invited the scholars in his court to deliberate on the matter and he also called upon Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawād to participate. Thereafter, Muʿtaṣim asked us as to what part of a thief’s hand is to be cut. I answered: ‘From the wrist-bone.’ ‘For what reason?’ asked the caliph. I said: ‘This is because the hand includes the fingers and the palm up to the wrist-bone based on the verse of tayammum: … and wipe a part of your faces and your hands …’ This view was also supported by a group of scholars in the court. Some other scholars said: ‘It needs to be severed from the elbow.’ Upon inquiry of evidence by the caliph, they said: ‘This is due to the verse of ablution: When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows … which indicates that the hand extends up to the elbow.’ The caliph thereafter turned to Muhammad ibn Ali and said: ‘What is your view on this, O Abū Jaʿfar?’ He replied: ‘O commander of the faithful, the scholars have expressed their views [and this suffices].’ He said: ‘Leave aside what they have said; what is it that you have?’ Abū Jaʿfar insisted on his previous stand, saying: ‘Exempt me from this, O commander of the faithful.’ The caliph said: ‘I adjure you by God to tell us your view on this matter.’ Here, Abū Jaʿfar said: ‘Now that you have entreated me by God to speak [of my view], I must say that the scholars did not get the sunnah right, as the hand [in this case] needs to be cut off from the joints of the fingers, sparing the palm.’ ‘On what grounds?’ enquired Muʿtaṣim. He replied: ‘Based on the narration of the Prophet of God (s) that prostration is performed by seven parts, the forehead, two palms, two knees, and two toes. Thus, if the thief’s hand were to be severed from the wrist-bone or the elbow, no hand would be left for him to perform the prostration. [Moreover,] God, the blessed, the Almighty, says in the Quran: And that the places of worship belong to Allah, meaning by it the seven parts of prostration; so do not invoke anyone along with Allah, and that which belongs to God cannot be amputated.’ Muʿtaṣim was fascinated by this response of Abū Jaʿfar and ordered the hand of the thief to be cut from the joints of the fingers excluding the palm.” Having narrated this, Ibn Abī Duʾād said: “I was violently agitated by this and wished that I was not alive.”’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Makārim Shīrāzī considers this verse also to be part of the conversation of jinn with their community members.
[1] Lisan, under s-j-d.
[2] Bahrayn and Raghib, under s-j-d.
[3] Bahrayn, under s-j-d.
[4] Raghib, under s-j-d. Prayer mat in Arabic is called misjadah or sajjādah. Sajjādah also implies the effect of prostration on the face of a person. Masjad also means the scar that has appeared on the forehead due to prostration (Lisan, under s-j-d).
[5] Lisan, under s-j-d; Qamus, under sujūd (masji/ad).
[6] Kashif, 7/440; Tibyan, 10/155; Ithna Ashari, 13/349; Tantawi, 15/141; Qurtubi, 20/20; Alusi 15/102; Shawkani, 5/370; Sabzawari, 7/251; Fadlallah, 23/162; Tabrisi, 10/560. See also Razi, 30/673.
[7] Nemuneh, 25/124.
[8] Hans Wehr, under daʿā.
[9] Raghib, under d-ʿ-a.
[10] Bahrayn, under d-ʿ-a.
[11] Mizan, 20/46; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/388; Alusi, 15/102; Ithna Ashari, 13/349.
[12] Tabari, 29/73. See also Tabrisi, 10/560.
[13] Tibyan, 10/155; Tantawi, 15/141; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/388; Tabari, 29/73; Qurtubi, 20/20; Alusi, 15/102; Shawkani, 5/370; Zamakhshari, 4/629; Razi, 30/673; Mizan, 20/49.
[14] Tabari, 29/73.
[15] Tabrisi, 10/560.
[16] Mizan, 20/49. Tabatabai is of the view that the sentence the places of worship belong to Allah is in fact a clause of reason for the sentence that follows it (so do not invoke anyone along with Allah).
[17] Tabari, 29/73.
[18] Tibyan, 10/155; Tabrisi, 10/560; Tabari, 29/73; Ithna Ashari, 13/349. Ibn Abbas is reported to have said regarding this verse: ‘There was no mosque on the day this verse was revealed except for Masjid al-Ḥarām and the mosque of Īlyā in Jerusalem.’ (Ibn Abi Hatim, 10/3378. See also Ibn Kathir, 8/256; Alusi, 15/102).
[19] Khatib, 15/1233.
[20] Nemuneh, 25/126.
[21] These are the forehead, two hands, two knees, and the two toes.
[22] Mizan, 20/50. This interpretation of the verse has also been narrated from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, al-Farrāʾ, and Zajjāj (Alusi, 15/102. See also Razi, 30/673; Shawkani, 5/370-371; Tibyan, 10/155).
[23] See Tibyan, 10/155.
[24] Mizan, 20/50.
[25] One of the early initiatives of the Prophet of Islam after his migration to the city of Medina was to establish a mosque. The masjid in the Medinan society during the time of the Prophet was the centre of worship as well as military and political activities. It played a decisive role in shaping the newly established Muslim community in Medina (Rasūl Jaՙfariyān, Tārīkh-e Siyāsi-ye Islām: Sīrah-e Rasūl-e Khudā, (Intishārāt-e Dalīl-e Mā, 4th edition, 1385 AHS/2007), p. 431.
[26] Tasnīm, 6/243.
[27] Kafi, 3/311. This interpretation of the verse has also appeared in the will (waṣiyyah) of Imam Ali (a) to his son, Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (see Faqih, 2/626).
[28] Karājakī, Kanz al-Fawāʾid, 1/149-151.
[29] Quran, 4:43 and 5:6.
[30] Quran, 5:6.
[31] Ayyashi, 1/319. See also Alusi, 15/102.
[32] Nemuneh, 25/124.