People vie in adorning mosques
Appeared
In brief
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The Hour will not come until people compete with one another over mosques.' People will decorate mosques lavishly and boast about them, while few people pray in them.
Ibn Abbas said: 'You will decorate them as the Jews and Christians decorated theirs.' When Umar expanded the Prophet's Mosque, he told the builder: 'Shelter people from the rain, and beware of red and yellow, so you do not distract people.'
A mosque is honoured by those who pray in it. Fill it.
Where it sits in the sequence
The narrations do not put these in order, and many of them overlap. Sahih al-Bukhari 7121 lists several together.
Strongest narrations
Read all in the archive →Tags are automatic and unreviewed.
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْخُزَاعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، وَقَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَتَبَاهَى النَّاسُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ " .
Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The Last Hour will not come until people vie with one another about mosques
أَخْبَرَنَا سُوَيْدُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يَتَبَاهَى النَّاسُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ " .
It was narrated from Anas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:"One of the portents of the Hour will be that people will show off in building Masjids
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ الْجُمَحِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَتَبَاهَى النَّاسُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ " .
It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:"The Messenger of Allah said: 'The Hour will not begin until the people compete in (building) mosques
Weak and ungraded reports on this sign
6
Shown for study, not as established. Includes Kitab al-Fitan of Nu'aym ibn Hammad, which is ungraded and weak overall.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا عبد الصمد، حدثنا حماد يعني ابن سلمة، عن أيوب، عن أبي قلابة، عن أنس، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتباهى الناس في المساجد "
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا عبد الصمد ، حدثنا حماد بن سلمة، عن أيوب، عن أبي قلابة، عن أنس بن مالك قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتباهى الناس في المساجد "
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا عبد الصمد، وعفان، قالا: حدثنا حماد، عن أيوب، عن أبي قلابة، عن أنس، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتباهى الناس في المساجد "
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
Not graded under this archive's policy. The verdicts recorded are listed.
حدثنا يونس، وحسن بن موسى، قالا: حدثنا حماد بن سلمة، عن أيوب السختياني، عن أبي قلابة، عن أنس بن مالك، أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: " لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتباهى الناس في المساجد "
No translation yet. Arabic only.
AI draft, not reviewed by an editor. Read the Arabic for the meaning.
What scholars have said
Scholars cite it as having appeared
Allamah Muhammad Al-Barzanjid. 1103 AH (1040-1103 AH)
Places people vying over mosques among the signs that have appeared and not ended.
al-Isha'a li-Ashrat al-Sa'a, ch. 2: signs that have appeared and not ended
Allamah Shamsuddin Al-Saffarinid. 1188 AH (1114-1188 AH)
Lists it among the signs that appeared and keep increasing.
al-Buhur al-Zakhira, ch. 2: middle signs that appeared and did not end, but increase
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalanid. 852 AH (773-852 AH)
Explains Anas's words 'they will vie with mosques, then rarely fill them': filling them means with prayer and the remembrance of Allah, not with building.
Fath al-Bari, Kitab al-Salat, chapter on building the mosque
Present-day data
These numbers show the world today beside the narration. They do not decide whether the sign has appeared; that is shown only through named scholars, in the Scholars' views tab.
'The Hour will not come until people vie with one another over mosques' (Sunan Abi Dawud 449, sahih per al-Albani). Anas added: they will vie with them, then rarely fill them. Ibn Hajar explains that filling a mosque means prayer and the remembrance of Allah, not building. A few mosques of recent decades show the scale of what is now built.
Narrations behind this panel: Sunan Abi Dawud 449 · Sunan an-Nasa'i 689 · Sunan Ibn Majah 739
Background
Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca (1993)
A 210 m minaret, room for about 105,000 worshippers inside and in its courtyard, and halls finished in carved cedar, marble and zellij tilework.
Wikipedia, Hassan II Mosque
as of 2026-10-27
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi (2007)
Inaugurated in December 2007. Its prayer hall carpet covers 5,627 m² and weighs about 35 tonnes; seven chandeliers are gilded in 24-carat gold.
Wikipedia, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
as of 2026-10-27
Djamaa el Djazaïr, Algiers (2024)
Inaugurated on 25 February 2024. Its 265 m minaret is the tallest in the world, and it holds about 120,000 worshippers.
Wikipedia, Djamaa el Djazaïr
as of 2026-10-27
Read with care
- Building a beautiful mosque is not itself what the narration warns about; the scholars read it as pride and competition, with mosques left empty of prayer.
Draft: figures and wording await a researcher's check and the scholar board.