Reserving a place in the mosque by placing a book or keys
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, is it permissible to place a book or keys in the mosque to reserve a place, and are we not allowed to remove them and sit there?
Answer:
Placing a mat or carpet, or placing keys as you mentioned, or a cane, if he is coming back soon to perform wudu or to relieve himself and will return shortly, then he has the stronger right to it, because he is like someone present. But if he is performing Hajj and leaves, and he is not coming back until the very end of the time, going to sell and buy,
Honorable Shaykh, is it permissible to place a book or keys in the mosque to reserve a place, and are we not allowed to remove them and sit there?
Answer:
Placing a mat or carpet, or placing keys as you mentioned, or a cane, if he is coming back soon to perform wudu or to relieve himself and will return shortly, then he has the stronger right to it, because he is like someone present. But if he is performing Hajj and leaves, and he is not coming back until the very end of the time, going to sell and buy,
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الأدب — islamhouse.com (1:09:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.