Abu Amir ar-Rahib was a monk who despised the Prophet ﷺ and even fought against him during the Battle of Badr. When the Muslims won the battle, Abu Amir's hatred for Islam increased. So he ran off from Madinah and stayed in Makkah, where he allied with the pagan Quraysh tribes. He assisted them in the Battle of Uhud as well, and during this battle, he dug a hole in the battlefield, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fell into and injured himself. He was truly a very evil man.
When Abu Amir was in Rome to ask support from Heraclius against the Muslims, he wrote letters to his followers, who were still in Madinah. In the letters, he wished them well and ordered them to build a building which could serve as an outpost and military base for him, as he promised to send an army of Romans to defeat the Muslims. These followers built a mosque in the village of 'Quba, one of the villages located in the territory of Madinah. The mosque was completed before the Prophet ﷺ returned from Tabuk, and it was created to cause dissent amongst the local Muslim population. When the mosque was completed, the hypocrites met the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and told Him about the new mosque. They claimed that the mosque was built for the weak and ill people on rainy nights. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied to them, saying, “We are on a journey, but when we return, Insha'allah.”
After a few weeks, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ returned to Madinah after the Tabuk expedition. When He was a few days away from Madinah, Allah sent down the angel, Jibreel, to inform Him of the news about the new mosque and the disbelief and divisions occuring between the Muslims. Jibreel also told Him about the original purpose of the mosque, which was intended to cause divisions amongst Muslims. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Ammar ibn Yasir and another one of His companions to destroy the mosque, before he reached Madinah.
The companions set fire to the mosque, and all of the people inside ran out of it. The mosque was destroyed completely. Not a trace of it remained. This mosque was later known as Masjid al-Dirar, which translates to “The Mosque of Dissent”. The 'Quba Mosque was expanded in the Mamluk and Ottoman eras, and the whole structure now covers the location of Masjid al-Dirar.
Source:
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Surah at-Tawbah verses 107 and 108
Ar-Raheeq Al-Maktoom by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
The Last Years of the Prophet by Al-Tabari
Za'ad al-Ma'ad by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, abridged version
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