Why are worshiping places of other religions (Church, Temple) prohibited in Saudi Arabia?

Sources

• ✓ 72:18 · Al-Jinn

  72:18 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  وَأَنَّ ٱلْمَسَٰجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ أَحَدًۭا

  And the places of worship are only for Allah, so pray not unto anyone along with Allah.

• ✓ 6:56 · Al-An'aam

  6:56 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  قُلْ إِنِّى نُهِيتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ قُل لَّآ أَتَّبِعُ أَهْوَآءَكُمْ ۙ قَدْ ضَلَلْتُ إِذًۭا وَمَآ أَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ

  Say: I am forbidden to worship those on whom ye call instead of Allah. Say: I will not follow your desires, for then should I go astray and I should not be of the rightly guided.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 6:56

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 6:56

  Allah says: "And thus We detail the verses"—meaning the detailed explanations of the verses that the addressed people require for clarity—as well as "that the way of the criminals might become clear"—that is, the path of those who disobey the messengers and reject the truth will be exposed. There is a variant reading which can be rendered as a direct address to the Prophet or the listeners, emphasizing that the path of the wrongdoers will be made manifest. Regarding the statement, "Say, 'Indeed, I am upon clear evidence from my Lord,'" Ibn Kathir explains that this refers to the Prophet’s firm insight granted through divine law revealed to him. The phrase, "and you have denied it," points to the rejection by disbelievers of the truth brought by Allah. When Allah says, "I do not have what you hasten for," it means the punishment they seek is not yet upon the Prophet’s authority to bring about. "Indeed, the decision is only for Allah" emphasizes that the judgment belongs solely to Allah, who may hasten or delay the punishment according to His wisdom. This is confirmed by, "Indeed, the decision is only for Allah; He relates the truth and He is the best of judges," indicating Allah’s role as the ultimate arbitrator and fair decider. On the verse, "Say, ‘If I had what you hasten for, the matter would have been concluded between me and you,’" Ibn Kathir notes that if the punishment sought by the disbelievers were within the Prophet's power to inflict immediately, he would surely have done so according to what they deserve. Yet Allah knows best who are the unjust. Ibn Kathir addresses an apparent tension between this verse and a hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, where Aisha asked the Prophet if he ever faced a day more difficult than the Battle of Uhud, and he replied that the Day of Aqaba was even harder. During that moment, he approached a hostile figure from the Quraysh who rebuffed him, leaving the Prophet saddened until the angel Gabriel appeared with a reassurance that an angel of the mountains had been sent to him, ready to carry out his command to crush the disbelievers under the mountains if he wished. The Prophet chose mercy, hoping Allah would bring forth from their descendants those who would worship Him alone without associating partners. The resolution is that the verse conveys that if the punishment were in the Prophet’s hands to apply at the moment the disbelievers requested it, he would not delay it. However, the hadith demonstrates that the Prophet was seeking forbearance and mercy for them, not that they had demanded the punishment itself—God alone controls the timing of retribution and exercises measured wisdom. About the phrase, "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him," Ibn Kathir cites the hadith expounding the five keys of the unseen that only Allah knows: the knowledge of the Hour, sending down the rain, what is in the wombs, what a soul will earn tomorrow, and where a person will die. This is exemplified by Quranic verse from Luqman (31:34). Allah’s knowledge encompasses all that exists on land and sea; nothing, not even the tiniest particle in the earth or sky, escapes His awareness. Ibn Kathir quotes poets who highlight that nothing hides from Allah, whether observable or hidden. The statement, "And no leaf falls but that He knows it," illustrates Allah’s knowledge of even the slightest movement of inanimate things, let alone living beings and especially those accountable among jinn and humans, as Allah also knows the treachery of eyes and the secrets of hearts. Ibn Kathir brings a narration from Ibn Abbas, citing that every tree on land or sea has an assigned angel who notes what falls from its leaves, reflecting the vastness of divine knowledge and care. The continuation, "And there is not a grain in the darknesses of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry but that it is in a clear record," is clarified by reports that beneath the earth are boundaries guarded by angels with divine seals, each entrusted by Allah to safeguard what is in their care and report to Allah daily. There are several chains of transmission reporting that every tree or sprout in the earth has an angel assigned to record its states—the moistness during growth and dryness when withered. There is also a report from Ibn Abbas telling that Allah created the pen and the tablets on which is inscribed the decree of all creation until the end of time, encompassing lawful and unlawful provision, and deeds good or evil, corresponding to the words of this verse starting from "And no leaf falls..."