Transliteration:( Afaman assasa bunyaanahoo 'alaa taqwaa minal laahi wa ridwaanin khairun am man assasa bunyaanahoo 'alaa shafaa jurufin haarin fanhaara bihee fee Naari Jahannam; wallaahu laa yahdil qawmaz zaalimeen )
“Is he who has laid his foundation on the fear of Allah and His pleasure [303] better, or he who has laid his foundation on the brink of a crumbling pit [304], which then tumbles down with him into the fire of Hell? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people [306].”
This refers to the Ansar of Masjid Quba, who established their mosque based on taqwa (fear of Allah) and the pursuit of His pleasure. According to this verse, their faith, sincerity, and righteousness have been certified by the Holy Qur’an. The foundation of their faith, deeds, and the mosque itself was laid upon sincere God-consciousness. Hence, to doubt the faith or piety of these companions is equivalent to rejecting the testimony of the Qur’an itself, which affirms their purity and purpose.
This represents the hypocrites who constructed Masjid Dirar, a structure built upon deception, hidden disbelief, and political conspiracy. Their claim of faith, their outward Salaah and fasting, and the very mosque itself are likened to being constructed on the brink of a crumbling pit—an unstable, hollow base destined to collapse into the fire of Hell.
This verse draws a powerful comparison: just as a structure built on weak ground is doomed to fall, so too are the deeds of hypocrites. According to Hazrat Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him), when Masjid Dirar was being demolished on the order of the Prophet ﷺ, smoke of Hell was seen rising from it (Tafseer Roohul Bayaan). This striking image shows that all actions lacking sincerity are like buildings destined to collapse, spiritually and ultimately, into Hellfire.
This verse teaches a vital lesson: one should not judge someone's piety based solely on outward appearance or eloquent speech. Not everything that appears good on the surface is truly valuable—all that glitters is not gold. True sincerity and God-consciousness are the foundations upon which righteous actions and structures are accepted by Allah. Hypocrisy, no matter how well-disguised, will ultimately lead to ruin.
109. Is it then he who laid the foundation of his building on Taqwa to Allah and His good pleasure better, or he who laid the foundation of his building on the brink of an undetermined precipice ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the fire of Hell. And Allah guides not the people who are the wrongdoers. 110. The building which they built will never cease to be a cause of hypocrisy and doubt in their hearts unless their hearts are cut to pieces. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Allah the Exalted says that the Masjid that has been built on the basis of Taqwa of Allah and His pleasure is not the same as a Masjid that was been built based on causing harm, disbelief and causing division among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger . The latter built their Masjid on the edge of a steep hole,
(into the fire of Hell. And Allah guides not the people who are the wrongdoers.), Allah does not bring aright the works of those who commit mischief. Jabir bin `Abdullah said, “I saw the Masjid that was built to cause harm with smoke rising up from it, during the time of the Messenger of Allah .” Allah’s statement,
(The building which they built will never cease to be a cause of doubt in their hearts) and hypocrisy. Because of this awful action that they committed, they inherited hypocrisy in their hearts, just as those who worshipped the calf were inclined to adoring it. Allah said next,
(unless their hearts are cut to pieces.) until they die, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Zayd bin Aslam, As-Suddi, Habib bin Abi Thabit, Ad-Dahhak, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and several other scholars of the Salaf.
(And Allah is All-Knowing,) of the actions of His creation,
(All-Wise.) in compensating them for their good or evil actions.
(9:109) Is he, then, who has erected his structure on the fear of Allah and His good pleasure better, or he who erects his structure on the brink of a crumbling bank,[103] so that it crumbles down with him into the Hell-Fire? Allah does not bestow His Guidance on the wrong-doing folk.[104]
103. In order to comprehend fully the implications of this simile, let us first consider the significance of the Arabic word Juruf. This applies to the brink of that piece of land which has been undermined by a river or a stream, leaving its surface without any support. In this meaningful simile the construction of the structure of life on the Godless foundations has been compared to that building which is built on the river brink, which has been undermined by its water. It is obvious that the ignorant man who builds a structure on the surface of such a piece of land, merely because it is a piece of land, will not only lose the building but will also lose his own life, for it will inevitably fall down into the river along with him because it has nothing to support it. Likewise, the one who lays the foundation of the structure of the system of his life on the surface of worldly things, without any regard to God’s fear or His favor which are the only permanent supports of human life, is like the man who builds his structure on the surface undermined by the river. For such a man, he himself undermines the structure of his life by his wrong deeds which inevitably follow if there is no bedrock of God’s fear and His favor. Therefore the surface on which he had built his life would one day inevitably tumble down into the abyss of Hell along with the earnings of his whole life.
104. “Guide”, that leads to man’s real success.
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