Ibrahim Taimi narrates that my father and I used to sit on the way and recite the Qur'an together. He says that (once) he recited a verse of prostration and performed sajdah (prostration). I said to him, "Do you perform sajdah on the road?" He replied, "Yes, I heard Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) say that I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), 'Which mosque was built first on the face of the earth?' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Al-Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque).' I asked, 'Then which one?' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Then Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.' I asked, 'What was the time span between the two?' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Forty years.' Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Wherever the time for prayer comes upon you, pray there, for that is a mosque.'"

Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever builds a mosque for the sake of Allah's pleasure, Allah will build a house for him in Paradise."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever has a well dug from which living beings—jinn, humans, and birds—drink, Allah Almighty will grant him reward on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever builds a mosque the size of a sparrow's nest or even smaller, Allah Almighty will build a house for him in Paradise." The words of Yunus are: "Whatever beast or bird drinks from it—" and he said: "A mosque the size of a sparrow's nest."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most beloved places to Allah in the cities are its mosques, and the worst places to Allah are the markets."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ordered the construction of mosques in neighborhoods.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wiped phlegm or saliva with his blessed hand and cleaned it, then he had saffron brought and applied it over that spot. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says, for this reason saffron is applied in mosques.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw some nasal mucus stuck on the Qiblah side of the mosque, so the blessed face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned red (due to anger). Then an Ansari woman came, scraped off that filth and cleaned it, and applied perfume made of saffron at that place. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How excellent this deed is." Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this hadith is extremely rare (gharib).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The rewards and good deeds of my Ummah were presented before me, even to the extent of the straw that a person removes from the mosque. And the sins of my Ummah were also presented before me, and I did not see any sin greater than that of a person to whom a Surah or verse of the Qur'an was given (he memorized it), then he forgot it (neither remembered it nor acted upon it)."

Explanation of the evidence that pebbles will be spread in the mosque so that due to rain, mud and wetness (water), clothes do not get dirty. If the hadith narrated in this regard is authentic.

Abu al-Walid narrates that I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), "How did the practice of spreading pebbles in the mosque begin?" He replied, "One night it rained upon us, so when we came to the mosque to pray, a man would bring pebbles in his garment, spread them out, and pray upon them. Then, when morning came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) inquired, 'What is this?' So the Companions explained the situation to him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'This is a very good bedding.' Thus, people began to spread pebbles."

He says, "I asked, 'When did the application of saffron begin?' He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came for the morning prayer and suddenly saw nasal discharge at the qiblah of the mosque. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) scraped it off and said, 'How ugly and filthy this act is.' So the person who had thrown that discharge came, cleaned it, and then applied saffron over it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'This is a better and more beautiful act than the previous one.'"

He says, "I asked, 'What is the reason that when one of us relieves himself (urination or defecation), upon getting up, he looks at it?' He replied, 'Indeed, an angel says, "Look at the outcome of what you have produced."'"