Providing Pilgrims with Water and maintaining the Sacred Masjid are not equal to Faith and Jihad

In his Tafsir, Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas explained this Ayah: "The idolators said, `Maintaining Al-Masjid Al-Haram and providing water for pilgrims are better than embracing the faith and performing Jihad.' They used to boast and show off among the people because they claimed, they were the people and maintainers of Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Allah mentioned their arrogance and rejection (of the faith), saying to `the people of Al-Haram', who were idolators,

قَدْ كَانَتْ ءَايَـتِى تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَـبِكُمْ تَنكِصُونَ - مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ سَـمِراً تَهْجُرُونَ

Commentary

The first four verses (19 - 22) relate to a particular event. A cursory look into its background shows that many Mushriks of Makkah felt proud that they kept the Sacred Mosque bustling with visitors and devotees and ran a drinking water service for the pilgrims. Keeping their rival Muslims in view, they claimed that no deed by anyone could match theirs. When Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ came to Muslims as a prisoner from the battle of Badr, he had not embraced Islam by that time. His Muslim relatives reproached him for remaining deprived of the blessing of 'Iman. In response, he too had said the same things, ` you think 'Iman and Hijrah are big feathers in your cap, but we too have our own assets. We are the custodians of the building of the Sacred Mosque and serve water to the pilgrims. No deed by anyone can match these.' Revealed thereupon were these verses. (Ibn Kathir on the authority of ` Ali ibn Abi Talhah from Ibn ` Abbas)