Endowing a mosque for Allah, and the money used to purchase the mosque came from a riba loan
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Fatwa number ( 13679 )
Q: We previously submitted a question to you regarding the mosque where we perform our prayers. Our question was as follows: The building in which we pray is owned by one of the Muslim brothers residing here. The Muslim community was renting this building from this brother for a monthly financial amount. Then the brother decided to donate this building to serve as a permanent mosque for the Muslims here, and refused to take any rent from us. His intention was to do good. However, this brother, the owner of the building, owns a food materials business and a real estate business. According to his admission, approximately one-third of
his food materials business is in alcoholic beverages. In addition, he informed us that he purchased the building in which we are currently praying through a loan from a bank, and he is still paying the loan installments along with bank interest to this day. We inquired of your Eminence by telephone: Is it permissible to accept this brother's donation of this building, knowing that part of the source of his wealth is from dealing in alcoholic beverages and riba from bank interest? Your answer to us consisted of two parts: First, that the brother's donation of the mosque should be accepted, and that we should stop asking him about the source of his money. Second, that a written declaration should be taken from him that he is donating the building to be used as a mosque. Accordingly, we explained your fatwa in this matter to the brother, the owner of the building, and requested that he write us a declaration stating that he is donating the mosque, and that he write it to a trusted Islamic entity, such as the office of the Muslim World League in America, but the brother refused to write a declaration that he is donating the building, and was content with committing that this building would be a mosque forever. The reason for his refusal was his fear that someone else might come and change the building, or that the mosque might be used by a specific entity or group as a platform for propaganda for their own purposes. We tried by all
means to convince him, but to no avail. As for our current situation, the opinions of the community have divided into two groups: one group holds that there is no harm in praying in this mosque, even though the owner of the building does not agree to write a declaration that he is donating it as a mosque, and another group holds that this written declaration must be executed, otherwise it is not permissible to pray in it. Now we would like your Eminence to guide us in what we must do here, and whether it is permissible to establish prayer in this building? We also request a written response from your Eminence so that we may present it in the mosque. We thank you and are grateful, and we ask Allah the Exalted to guide us and you to what is correct. And may Allah reward you with all good.
A: There is no harm in praying in the aforementioned building, and the owner's declaration that he has endowed it as a mosque is sufficient, even if it is not written; because he may have an acceptable excuse for not writing it in order to preserve the mosque as long as it is in his name, and to defend it from those who might encroach upon it. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: We previously submitted a question to you regarding the mosque where we perform our prayers. Our question was as follows: The building in which we pray is owned by one of the Muslim brothers residing here. The Muslim community was renting this building from this brother for a monthly financial amount. Then the brother decided to donate this building to serve as a permanent mosque for the Muslims here, and refused to take any rent from us. His intention was to do good. However, this brother, the owner of the building, owns a food materials business and a real estate business. According to his admission, approximately one-third of
his food materials business is in alcoholic beverages. In addition, he informed us that he purchased the building in which we are currently praying through a loan from a bank, and he is still paying the loan installments along with bank interest to this day. We inquired of your Eminence by telephone: Is it permissible to accept this brother's donation of this building, knowing that part of the source of his wealth is from dealing in alcoholic beverages and riba from bank interest? Your answer to us consisted of two parts: First, that the brother's donation of the mosque should be accepted, and that we should stop asking him about the source of his money. Second, that a written declaration should be taken from him that he is donating the building to be used as a mosque. Accordingly, we explained your fatwa in this matter to the brother, the owner of the building, and requested that he write us a declaration stating that he is donating the mosque, and that he write it to a trusted Islamic entity, such as the office of the Muslim World League in America, but the brother refused to write a declaration that he is donating the building, and was content with committing that this building would be a mosque forever. The reason for his refusal was his fear that someone else might come and change the building, or that the mosque might be used by a specific entity or group as a platform for propaganda for their own purposes. We tried by all
means to convince him, but to no avail. As for our current situation, the opinions of the community have divided into two groups: one group holds that there is no harm in praying in this mosque, even though the owner of the building does not agree to write a declaration that he is donating it as a mosque, and another group holds that this written declaration must be executed, otherwise it is not permissible to pray in it. Now we would like your Eminence to guide us in what we must do here, and whether it is permissible to establish prayer in this building? We also request a written response from your Eminence so that we may present it in the mosque. We thank you and are grateful, and we ask Allah the Exalted to guide us and you to what is correct. And may Allah reward you with all good.
A: There is no harm in praying in the aforementioned building, and the owner's declaration that he has endowed it as a mosque is sufficient, even if it is not written; because he may have an acceptable excuse for not writing it in order to preserve the mosque as long as it is in his name, and to defend it from those who might encroach upon it. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.