Is it permissible to accept a gift from non-Muslims for the establishment of an Islamic center?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 5625 )
Q: I am a Saudi student studying in America, and we are in the process of building an Islamic center, if Allah wills, in the city of Miami, and the university has donated
the land on which the center is to be built, but some of the brothers objected to this, on the grounds that it is not permissible to accept it from either the Christians or the Jews. As Your Eminence knows, the majority of the people of America are Christians, and some of them are Jews, so I have attached to this letter a copy of the contract by which the land is to be given, as well as some questions about the same subject.
A: After the committee studied the attached copy of the contract and reviewed it, it responded as follows: If the matter is as described, it is not permissible to accept this gift; because the application of the contract's conditions leads to harms, among which are: the center's administration being subject to the university's regulations and laws, which are unknown to the recipient of the gift, and some of them may contradict Islam, as well as the mention that the center is subject to the laws of the State of Florida, and it is known that their laws include things that contradict Islam, and what is also stated in it is that the center is for Muslims and others such as the Jews, and this means: that Muslims establish a center in which the rituals of the Christian and Jewish religions are performed, and this will cause many problems, and it was also stipulated in it: that the donor has the right to revoke the gift and transfer ownership to the university.. and so on of the matters included in the contract, which are contrary to the Islamic Shari'ah.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: I am a Saudi student studying in America, and we are in the process of building an Islamic center, if Allah wills, in the city of Miami, and the university has donated
the land on which the center is to be built, but some of the brothers objected to this, on the grounds that it is not permissible to accept it from either the Christians or the Jews. As Your Eminence knows, the majority of the people of America are Christians, and some of them are Jews, so I have attached to this letter a copy of the contract by which the land is to be given, as well as some questions about the same subject.
A: After the committee studied the attached copy of the contract and reviewed it, it responded as follows: If the matter is as described, it is not permissible to accept this gift; because the application of the contract's conditions leads to harms, among which are: the center's administration being subject to the university's regulations and laws, which are unknown to the recipient of the gift, and some of them may contradict Islam, as well as the mention that the center is subject to the laws of the State of Florida, and it is known that their laws include things that contradict Islam, and what is also stated in it is that the center is for Muslims and others such as the Jews, and this means: that Muslims establish a center in which the rituals of the Christian and Jewish religions are performed, and this will cause many problems, and it was also stipulated in it: that the donor has the right to revoke the gift and transfer ownership to the university.. and so on of the matters included in the contract, which are contrary to the Islamic Shari'ah.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.