“Who is more unjust than he who forbids God’s name to be mentioned in His places of worship, and seeks to destroy them? Such people have no right to enter them except with fear in their hearts. They shall suffer ignominy in this world and awesome suffering awaits them in the life to come. To God belong the east and the west: wherever you turn there will be the face of God. Truly, God is limitless in His bounty and He knows all.”
(The Quran – 2:114-115)
Theseayaat relate to the qiblah issue and to Jewish efforts to dissuade the Muslims from turning in prayer towards the Ka’bah, in Makkah. However, the ayaat are phrased in general terms and may therefore be interpreted generally. The same applies to the consequences of hindering the use of God’s places of worship.
On the Conquest of Makkah in August 630 CE, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ordered a general amnesty declaring that anyone who entered the sacred mosque would be safe. Many of the Arab enemies of Islam did exactly that. These were the very people who prevented the Prophet and his followers from entering the Ka’bah. They are now warned of a double punishment.
Places of worship should properly remain in the custody of devout and God-fearing people, so that even if bad people did go there they would be deterred from committing misdeeds through fear of punishment. This is a subtle reference to the wrong perpetrated by the unbelievers of Makkah, who had barred the Muslims from worshipping in the House of God.