It is permissible to sell the land endowed for the mosque and spend its value on its construction
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Fatwa No. ( 1 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the correspondence sent by the honorable judge of the (Ahd Rafidah) Court, attached to his letter No. (599) dated 21/8/1391 AH, to His Eminence the Head of the Departments of Scientific Research and Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance, which was referred to it by
the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (98\2) dated 18/1/1392 AH. Upon studying this correspondence by the Committee, it was found to contain a query submitted by Sa'id ibn Rukban and his group, the text of which is: We are a group of Al-Humaidan from the village of al-Samkhiyyah, in the land of Rafidah Qahthan, and we have a collapsed mosque due to its age. Since we are poor and unable to build it at our own expense, and I, Sa'id ibn Rukban, am one of the group of Al-Humaidan, I inform you that I know that the aforementioned mosque has an endowment, which is a plot of land that our ancestors endowed it with. It has been left without cultivation or investment from the time of our ancestors until now, and the period I referred to is approximately fifty years. Given our pressing need to build the aforementioned mosque, we have all agreed to sell the aforementioned land, which is also an endowment for the aforementioned mosque, and to spend its value on building the aforementioned mosque. If the mosque requires repairs exceeding the value of the aforementioned land, we will complete the shortfall of the expense at our own cost in order to finish building the mosque. Is it permissible to sell the endowment as we see fit, or should the endowment be left as it is and the mosque remain collapsed while we pray in our homes? End of the intended meaning.
This query was referred by His Eminence the Deputy Mufti, No. (1535 \ 1) dated 10/5/1391 AH, to the honorable judge of Ahd Rafidah to verify the accuracy of what the questioners stated. The response came from his honor, attached to his letter No. (599) dated 21/8/1391 AH, the text of which is: The deputy of the village, Husayn ibn Mansur Abu Saba'ah, and two notables of the village, Ali ibn Ahmad Abu Mufayyid, and Mushabbib ibn Mansur Abu Mufayyid, were brought in. They were asked about the reality of the land, its area in meters, the desire of the neighbors for the land, its value if it were to be sold, and whether its retention benefits the mosque or not. Their answer: The land endowed for the mosque of Al-Humaidan is white land, uncultivated for many years. Its length is thirty-seven meters and its width is seventeen meters. As for the desire of the neighbors for it, there may be desire, but not at the present time. The neighbors of it are some absent, and their lands are barren and not cultivated. As for its value at the present time, it may reach three thousand riyals, and if it is in a public auction, that is something we do not know. As for its retention, there is no benefit for the mosque; because it is barren land, and it has been uncultivated for approximately sixty years, and no benefit has been obtained from it due to the weakness of its neighbors. End.
It is in a state of disrepair, and no benefit has been derived from it due to the weakness of those residing near it. End of text.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry and the mention by the honorable judge, it responded with the following answer: Since this land is an endowment (waqf) for the aforementioned mosque, and it is currently unused while the mosque is in need of renovation, and there is no one to carry out its renovation, and it was stated in the signed submission by Sa'id ibn Rukban and his group that they are prepared to complete the mosque's renovation along with the value of the land, therefore, based on this, it is permissible to sell this land and use its value for the renovation of the aforementioned mosque. If the value of this land is not sufficient for the mosque's renovation, then the one who committed to completing it must complete it. To protect the price of the land to be sold, its sale, the receipt of its price, its expenditure on the mosque's renovation, the supervision of its renovation, and the collection of the completion amount from the committed parties—since the endowment land was sold based on their commitment to complete it—must all be carried out through the honorable judge of the Had Rafidah court. This is how the signature was obtained. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the correspondence sent by the honorable judge of the (Ahd Rafidah) Court, attached to his letter No. (599) dated 21/8/1391 AH, to His Eminence the Head of the Departments of Scientific Research and Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance, which was referred to it by
the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, No. (98\2) dated 18/1/1392 AH. Upon studying this correspondence by the Committee, it was found to contain a query submitted by Sa'id ibn Rukban and his group, the text of which is: We are a group of Al-Humaidan from the village of al-Samkhiyyah, in the land of Rafidah Qahthan, and we have a collapsed mosque due to its age. Since we are poor and unable to build it at our own expense, and I, Sa'id ibn Rukban, am one of the group of Al-Humaidan, I inform you that I know that the aforementioned mosque has an endowment, which is a plot of land that our ancestors endowed it with. It has been left without cultivation or investment from the time of our ancestors until now, and the period I referred to is approximately fifty years. Given our pressing need to build the aforementioned mosque, we have all agreed to sell the aforementioned land, which is also an endowment for the aforementioned mosque, and to spend its value on building the aforementioned mosque. If the mosque requires repairs exceeding the value of the aforementioned land, we will complete the shortfall of the expense at our own cost in order to finish building the mosque. Is it permissible to sell the endowment as we see fit, or should the endowment be left as it is and the mosque remain collapsed while we pray in our homes? End of the intended meaning.
This query was referred by His Eminence the Deputy Mufti, No. (1535 \ 1) dated 10/5/1391 AH, to the honorable judge of Ahd Rafidah to verify the accuracy of what the questioners stated. The response came from his honor, attached to his letter No. (599) dated 21/8/1391 AH, the text of which is: The deputy of the village, Husayn ibn Mansur Abu Saba'ah, and two notables of the village, Ali ibn Ahmad Abu Mufayyid, and Mushabbib ibn Mansur Abu Mufayyid, were brought in. They were asked about the reality of the land, its area in meters, the desire of the neighbors for the land, its value if it were to be sold, and whether its retention benefits the mosque or not. Their answer: The land endowed for the mosque of Al-Humaidan is white land, uncultivated for many years. Its length is thirty-seven meters and its width is seventeen meters. As for the desire of the neighbors for it, there may be desire, but not at the present time. The neighbors of it are some absent, and their lands are barren and not cultivated. As for its value at the present time, it may reach three thousand riyals, and if it is in a public auction, that is something we do not know. As for its retention, there is no benefit for the mosque; because it is barren land, and it has been uncultivated for approximately sixty years, and no benefit has been obtained from it due to the weakness of its neighbors. End.
It is in a state of disrepair, and no benefit has been derived from it due to the weakness of those residing near it. End of text.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry and the mention by the honorable judge, it responded with the following answer: Since this land is an endowment (waqf) for the aforementioned mosque, and it is currently unused while the mosque is in need of renovation, and there is no one to carry out its renovation, and it was stated in the signed submission by Sa'id ibn Rukban and his group that they are prepared to complete the mosque's renovation along with the value of the land, therefore, based on this, it is permissible to sell this land and use its value for the renovation of the aforementioned mosque. If the value of this land is not sufficient for the mosque's renovation, then the one who committed to completing it must complete it. To protect the price of the land to be sold, its sale, the receipt of its price, its expenditure on the mosque's renovation, the supervision of its renovation, and the collection of the completion amount from the committed parties—since the endowment land was sold based on their commitment to complete it—must all be carried out through the honorable judge of the Had Rafidah court. This is how the signature was obtained. 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.