The ruling on seizing land to build mosques and parking lots
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on seizing land in order to build mosques or parking lots?
Answer:
It is not permissible to seize people’s wealth for any purpose, whether to possess it, sell it, or give it to someone else. If one wants to build a mosque on it, that is even more severe, because prayer is not valid in stolen land, as praying in it involves using another person’s property without right. On the correct view, prayer is not valid if the recitation is on stolen property, while some scholars consider it valid despite the sin of seizing the forbidden. It is not permissible for mosques to be built with haram (forbidden) money or on stolen land. This is not permissible because haram (forbidden) things may not be used, nor may one draw near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with them.
As mentioned in the question that passed, if the state sees the need to expropriate property for the public interest, for the street, or for any essential facility for the people, it compensates for this wealth, this land, or this house without oppression or injustice, paying whatever its value is, however high it may be. The value of houses and land varies according to their locations; there is land worth half a riyal and land worth half a million. The value differs according to the desirability of the land and the lack of desire for it. The owner is paid its value for the sake of the public interest, not for the sake of an individual or a group of people, but for the sake of the public interest, such as expanding a mosque or a minaret that cannot be expanded except by this means, or a road that cannot be widened or implemented except by this means. This is not for an individual or a specific group, but for the public interest.
Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on seizing land in order to build mosques or parking lots?
Answer:
It is not permissible to seize people’s wealth for any purpose, whether to possess it, sell it, or give it to someone else. If one wants to build a mosque on it, that is even more severe, because prayer is not valid in stolen land, as praying in it involves using another person’s property without right. On the correct view, prayer is not valid if the recitation is on stolen property, while some scholars consider it valid despite the sin of seizing the forbidden. It is not permissible for mosques to be built with haram (forbidden) money or on stolen land. This is not permissible because haram (forbidden) things may not be used, nor may one draw near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with them.
As mentioned in the question that passed, if the state sees the need to expropriate property for the public interest, for the street, or for any essential facility for the people, it compensates for this wealth, this land, or this house without oppression or injustice, paying whatever its value is, however high it may be. The value of houses and land varies according to their locations; there is land worth half a riyal and land worth half a million. The value differs according to the desirability of the land and the lack of desire for it. The owner is paid its value for the sake of the public interest, not for the sake of an individual or a group of people, but for the sake of the public interest, such as expanding a mosque or a minaret that cannot be expanded except by this means, or a road that cannot be widened or implemented except by this means. This is not for an individual or a specific group, but for the public interest.
Source
اغتصاب الأرض لبناء المساجد — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.