The ruling on taking water from the mosque for ablution and washing clothes

Question:
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, a questioner sent a set of questions but did not mention his name in his message. He says: Honorable Shaykh, we live in a rural area, and water is not available throughout the year. The house we live in is next to a mosque, and this mosque has an underground tank for collecting water whose source is rain. Because water is not available, and since we store that water for eating and drinking, we take water from the mosque and use it for ablution for prayer and for washing clothes. Is this ablution valid? The people of the village also take from it, but we take more than they do. What do you advise us to do?

Answer:
If the water is designated for the mosque and for ablution, it is not permissible for you to take it, because it is an endowment for the mosque, for neither you nor anyone else. However, if the water is a general endowment for those in need for ablution and other purposes, and for drinking and washing, there is no harm in taking from it as much as you need. But if it is designated for the mosque and for ablution in the mosque and for drinking in the mosque, then it is an endowment for the mosque. You are able to bring water for yourselves, and to draw water from its sources, even if they are far away.