The Use of Disbelievers in Building Mosques
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Fatwa No. ( 5361 )
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet... And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by the Director of the Civil Aviation Project to His Eminence the General President, No. 55, dated 7/1/1403 AH. The text of the question is as follows: We wish to direct your attention to the fact that we are one of the large national companies specializing in maintenance and operations, and our work focuses on maintaining most of the airports in the Kingdom , as we are bound by a contract with the General Authority of Civil Aviation to perform this task. As you know, most of these airports have mosques and designated areas for performing prayers, and it is incumbent upon us to maintain them, keep them clean, and carry out other necessary repairs, whether related to electricity, air conditioning, or other works. We rely on non-Muslim workers for many of these tasks, and breakdowns often occur inside these mosques that require quick repair. We know that it is forbidden for a non-Muslim to enter the Sacred Mosque, as stated in Surat al-Tawbah:[At-Tawbah 9:28]. We are making every effort to provide a full team of Muslim employees to perform the required work in the mosques, but this is not consistently possible for us. Is it permissible to allow non-Muslims to enter to carry out
the necessary repairs in the mosques, provided that they enter for that purpose only? We await your fatwa on this matter so that we may be guided in our affairs and not fall short in fulfilling our contractual obligations .
After studying the question, the Committee responded as follows: Mosques are the houses of Allah, established for His remembrance, His worship, the establishment of His rites, and the exaltation of His word. Disbelievers are enemies of Allah, His religion, His Shari'ah, and the Muslims. Therefore, it is not permissible to use the enemies of Allah to create an engineering design upon which their construction is based, nor to have them undertake their construction, installation of their electrical systems, doors, sanitary fixtures, or repair of what is defective in them, or the like. A decision was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars on this matter, the text of which is as follows: All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them... And after that: In the sixteenth session of the Council of Senior Scholars, held in the city of al-Ta'if , starting from the twelfth of Shawwal according to the Umm al-Qura calendar, year 1400 AH, until the twenty-first of that month, the Council considered the ruling on disbelievers entering the mosques of Muslims
And seeking their assistance in their construction; based on the written telegram received by His Eminence the President General of the Scientific Research, Ifta, and Guidance Departments from His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing for Public Works Affairs by proxy, number 5334/2, dated 29/6/1400 AH. Its text is as follows: (We inform you that one of the contractors has applied to us to approve the engineer he employed for one of the mosques, and since the aforementioned engineer is Christian in religion, we hope you will inform us if there is anything that prevents non-Muslims from participating in the execution of mosque projects and supervising them). End of text. When the Council reviewed the research prepared by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta on the subject, and listened to the words of the scholars therein, it unanimously held that it is not permissible for disbelievers to undertake the construction of mosques; since there are Muslims who can do so, and that they should not be brought in for this purpose or any other; in implementation of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) advice that two religions should not coexist in the Arabian Peninsula , and in accordance with what preserves the religion, security, and stability of these lands, and to keep them away from the danger that befell the neighboring countries due to the presence of disbelievers in them and their taking charge of many of their affairs, and because disbelievers cannot be trusted not to be dishonest in designing or executing mosque plans, they may design them in a shape close to or resembling the shape of churches, as has happened with some of them, and they may also be dishonest in the execution and construction; because they are enemies of this religion and of the Muslims who profess it. The Council advises that the government departments in the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Hajj, and Endowments, and others who undertake the construction of mosques and supervise them, be alerted to observe this with precision and care, and that they stipulate in all contracts they conclude for the construction of mosques with contractors that they do not seek assistance in design or execution from any non-Muslim. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
The proximity of non-Muslims to the area, due to their residence there and their management of many of its affairs, and because non-Muslims cannot be trusted not to be deceitful in the design or execution of mosque plans, is a concern. They may design them in a shape close to or resembling that of churches, as some have done, and they may also be deceitful in the execution and construction; for they are enemies of this religion and of the Muslims who profess it. The Council advises that the government departments, such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Hajj and Endowments, and others responsible for building and supervising mosques, be alerted to observe this with precision and care. It also advises that they stipulate in all contracts concluded with contractors for the construction of mosques that they must not seek assistance in the design or execution from any non-Muslim. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet... And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by the Director of the Civil Aviation Project to His Eminence the General President, No. 55, dated 7/1/1403 AH. The text of the question is as follows: We wish to direct your attention to the fact that we are one of the large national companies specializing in maintenance and operations, and our work focuses on maintaining most of the airports in the Kingdom , as we are bound by a contract with the General Authority of Civil Aviation to perform this task. As you know, most of these airports have mosques and designated areas for performing prayers, and it is incumbent upon us to maintain them, keep them clean, and carry out other necessary repairs, whether related to electricity, air conditioning, or other works. We rely on non-Muslim workers for many of these tasks, and breakdowns often occur inside these mosques that require quick repair. We know that it is forbidden for a non-Muslim to enter the Sacred Mosque, as stated in Surat al-Tawbah:
O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَذَا وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ إِنْ شَاءَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌthe necessary repairs in the mosques, provided that they enter for that purpose only? We await your fatwa on this matter so that we may be guided in our affairs and not fall short in fulfilling our contractual obligations .
After studying the question, the Committee responded as follows: Mosques are the houses of Allah, established for His remembrance, His worship, the establishment of His rites, and the exaltation of His word. Disbelievers are enemies of Allah, His religion, His Shari'ah, and the Muslims. Therefore, it is not permissible to use the enemies of Allah to create an engineering design upon which their construction is based, nor to have them undertake their construction, installation of their electrical systems, doors, sanitary fixtures, or repair of what is defective in them, or the like. A decision was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars on this matter, the text of which is as follows: All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them... And after that: In the sixteenth session of the Council of Senior Scholars, held in the city of al-Ta'if , starting from the twelfth of Shawwal according to the Umm al-Qura calendar, year 1400 AH, until the twenty-first of that month, the Council considered the ruling on disbelievers entering the mosques of Muslims
And seeking their assistance in their construction; based on the written telegram received by His Eminence the President General of the Scientific Research, Ifta, and Guidance Departments from His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing for Public Works Affairs by proxy, number 5334/2, dated 29/6/1400 AH. Its text is as follows: (We inform you that one of the contractors has applied to us to approve the engineer he employed for one of the mosques, and since the aforementioned engineer is Christian in religion, we hope you will inform us if there is anything that prevents non-Muslims from participating in the execution of mosque projects and supervising them). End of text. When the Council reviewed the research prepared by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta on the subject, and listened to the words of the scholars therein, it unanimously held that it is not permissible for disbelievers to undertake the construction of mosques; since there are Muslims who can do so, and that they should not be brought in for this purpose or any other; in implementation of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) advice that two religions should not coexist in the Arabian Peninsula , and in accordance with what preserves the religion, security, and stability of these lands, and to keep them away from the danger that befell the neighboring countries due to the presence of disbelievers in them and their taking charge of many of their affairs, and because disbelievers cannot be trusted not to be dishonest in designing or executing mosque plans, they may design them in a shape close to or resembling the shape of churches, as has happened with some of them, and they may also be dishonest in the execution and construction; because they are enemies of this religion and of the Muslims who profess it. The Council advises that the government departments in the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Hajj, and Endowments, and others who undertake the construction of mosques and supervise them, be alerted to observe this with precision and care, and that they stipulate in all contracts they conclude for the construction of mosques with contractors that they do not seek assistance in design or execution from any non-Muslim. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
The proximity of non-Muslims to the area, due to their residence there and their management of many of its affairs, and because non-Muslims cannot be trusted not to be deceitful in the design or execution of mosque plans, is a concern. They may design them in a shape close to or resembling that of churches, as some have done, and they may also be deceitful in the execution and construction; for they are enemies of this religion and of the Muslims who profess it. The Council advises that the government departments, such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Hajj and Endowments, and others responsible for building and supervising mosques, be alerted to observe this with precision and care. It also advises that they stipulate in all contracts concluded with contractors for the construction of mosques that they must not seek assistance in the design or execution from any non-Muslim. 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.