Masjid ad Zarar, the Mosque of Harm, was a mosque built by the hypocrites of Madinah to coverty oppose the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They completed it just before Prophet Muhammad departed on the Expedition of Tabuk.

Upon his return, Allah revealed their hypocracy in the Quran and the Prophet ordered the mosque to be destroyed.

Soon after, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the leader of the Munafiqeen fell critically ill, and he asked the Prophet to pray for him. After his death, his son asked the Prophet to lead his father's funeral prayer.

Out of mercy, the Prophet decided to pray for him, but Umar ibn al-Khattab forcefully objected, grabbing the prophet by his shirt, claiming Allah had prohibited the prayer. The Prophet replied "Allah has given me the choice. He said 'If you seek forgiveness 70 times, God will not forgive him" (there's no prohibition given) so I'll ask for more than 70 times."

Key lessons from this include:
- Don't pray in a mosque that advances the agenda of Islam's enemies. Don't become their pawns
- Worship cannot be detached from the political goals of Islam
- Leaders serve as exemplars for others, and thus have an elevated responsibility
- When we restrict acccess to centers of corruptions, we still have to provide alternatives
- The true worth of a masjid is reflected in the character of it's congregation
- Earnest desire for purification is a virtue Allah loves
- The worth of our actions depends on our intentions
- Anything undertaken with evil intentions is always on the verge of collapse
- Misuse of a mosque is a type of oppression
- Sometimes spiritual and psychological ailments are deeply rooted traits that resist change

Life of Prophet Muhammad by Sheikh Azhar Nasser

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Lecture slides available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=735

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Allah had warned Prophet Muhammad in the Quran (64:4) that his companions contained hypocrites so skilled at deceit that the prophet himself was pleased by their speech and appearance. Only revelation could expose them.

Later, during the return from the Tabuk expedition, while Prophet Muhammad went through a mountain pass while instructing his army to pass from below, some of these hypocrites tried to assault the prophet by startling his horse into dropping him off the cliff. Their plan was foiled and they fled. Despite wearing masks to hide their identies, they could be known by their horses.

The Quran (9:47) said that these hypocrites had renounced faith after becoming Muslims out of greed and vindictiveness.

However, instead of punishing those men, Prophet Muhammad decided to not pursue them because of the division it could cause amongh the Muslims. Those were men who appeared to be highly respected (as Quran 64:4 implied) and accusations against them would risk causing fitna.

Only Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman was told their names, and Prophet Muhammad instructed him to keep it a secret.

Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=731

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Video recording of this lecture + Q&A available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll8DOnchjAI&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

When leaving for Tabuk, the Prophet (s) appointed Imam Ali (as) as his deputy in Madinah to protect against any uprising led by the Munafiqeen. Explaining it's significance, he said to Imam Ali "You are to me as Harun was to Musa, except that there is no prophet after me."

There were at least 7 occasions that Prophet Muhammad made such a statement during his life.

One such occasion was narrated by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, when he emphasized how precious such a statement was by saying "If I had [a quality like that mentioned about me or my family], it would be dearer to me than anything."

What ranks did Prophet Harun have compared to Prophet Musa?
- Minister
- Helper
- Brother
- Backer/Strengthener
- Partner

The lecture includes objections Sunni scholars have raised to believing that this status continued after the Prophet's death, and Shia rebuttals to those objections.

Lecture notes available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=724

Subscribe at http://www.why-quran.org/subscribe to watch the lectures live and participate in the Q&A at the end of each class.

Video recording of this lecture + Q&A available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wgpyhlgVQ&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT