2/16. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 454 — Mosque Land
On (The Reward) Of Building Masajid
Mosque Land Hadith: Preparing Land for Worship
Sunan Abi Dawud : 454
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 454
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي التَّيَّاحِ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ كَانَ مَوْضِعُ الْمَسْجِدِ حَائِطًا لِبَنِي النَّجَّارِ فِيهِ حَرْثٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَقُبُورُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " ثَامِنُونِي بِهِ " . فَقَالُوا لاَ نَبْغِي بِهِ ثَمَنًا . فَقُطِعَ النَّخْلُ وَسُوِّيَ الْحَرْثُ وَنُبِشَ قُبُورُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَسَاقَ الْحَدِيثَ وَقَالَ " فَاغْفِرْ " . مَكَانَ " فَانْصُرْ " . قَالَ مُوسَى وَحَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ بِنَحْوِهِ وَكَانَ عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ يَقُولُ خِرَبٌ وَزَعَمَ عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ أَنَّهُ أَفَادَ حَمَّادًا هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ .
Anas bin Malik Narrated from:
The Mosque (of the Prophet) was built in the land of Banu al-Najjar which contained crops, palm trees and graves of the disbelievers. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Sell it to me for some price. They (Banu al-Najjar) replied: We do not want (any price). The palm-trees were cut off, and the crops removed and the graves of the disbelievers dug opened. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. But this version has the word "forgive" in the verse, instead of the word "help".Musa said: 'Abd al-Warith also narrated this tradition in a like manner. The version of 'Abd al-Warith has the word "dung-hill" (instead of crop), and he asserted that he narrated this tradition to Hammad.
[1] The narration of ‘Abdul-Wāriṭh is no. 453, the previous one, and Mūsā narrated no. 454 to Abū Dāwūd, from Hammād bin Salamah.Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 454In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 64English translation : Book 2, Hadith 454
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 454
This hadith is a shorter version of the report about the land of Banu al-Najjar. Anas says the place of the mosque contained crops, palm trees, and graves of disbelievers. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said to sell it to him for some price, but they replied that they did not want a price. The palm trees were cut, the crops were leveled or removed, and the graves were dug open. The rest of the report was then narrated, with a wording difference in the verse recited: this version mentions “forgive” instead of “help.” The core topic is mosque land and preparation. The text shows the land being prepared before the mosque was built.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked to buy the land.
- Banu al-Najjar did not seek a price in this narration.
- The land was cleared and prepared before the mosque was built.
