Is it permissible to demolish a mosque if it is no longer suitable for prayer and build a new one in its place, given that it is an endowment and the heirs of the endower do not have the ability to build it?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He says:The questioner : Your Eminence, we are the congregation of a mosque built fifteen years ago of blocks and wood. An official from the Waqf (endowment) department came to us three years ago and determined that the mosque is not suitable for prayer. When the mosque congregation sought a benefactor to build them a new mosque, an objector intervened and said: It is not permissible to demolish the mosque and increase its area because it is an endowment and its owner has died. This caused confusion for some of the mosque congregation, so we ask you, may Allah reward you with good, to clarify for us whether it is permissible for us to demolish this mosque and rebuild it anew, given that the heirs of the endower do not have the ability or means to build it.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
First: These mosques have a supervisor appointed by the state, and they are the Waqf (endowment) administrators. Therefore, the reference in this matter is to the Waqf administrators. If they decide that this mosque must be demolished, let it be demolished, and the reward of the one who first endowed it is upon Allah the Mighty and Majestic. And Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: . So the one who built it first built it with the intention that it would remain, so he has what he intended. As for confining people to this mosque which is not suitable to be a mosque because so-and-so endowed it, that is not a consideration. The congregation has the right to demolish it and build it in a way that is comfortable for people and to expand it, but they must obtain permission from the Waqf authorities or those in charge of the mosques for this.