Allah rebukes the disbelievers for preventing the believers from coming to Al-Masjid Al-Haram and performing their rites and rituals there, claiming that they were its guardians,

﴿وَمَا كَانُواْ أَوْلِيَآءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُ إِلاَّ الْمُتَّقُونَ﴾

(and they are not its guardians. None can be its guardians except those who have Taqwa) ﴿8:34﴾. In this Ayah there is proof that it was revealed in Al-Madinah, as Allah says in Surat Al-Baqarah:

﴿يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍ فِيهِ قُلْ قِتَالٌ فِيهِ كَبِيرٌ وَصَدٌّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَكُفْرٌ بِهِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَإِخْرَاجُ أَهْلِهِ مِنْهُ أَكْبَرُ عِندَ اللَّهِ﴾

(They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months. Say, "Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allah is to prevent mankind from following the way of Allah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and to drive out its inhabitants) ﴿2:217﴾ And Allah says here:

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ﴾

(Verily, those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the path of Allah, and from Al-Masjid Al-Haram) meaning, not only are they disbelievers, but they also hinder people from the path of Allah and from Al-Masjid Al-Haram. They prevent the believers who want to go there from reaching it, although the believers have more right than anyone else to go there. The structure of this phrase is like that to be found in the Ayah:

﴿الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ ﴾

(Those who believed, and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.) ﴿13:28﴾ Not only are they believers, but their hearts also find rest in the remembrance of Allah.