In one of the mosques, some young men are selling tapes of the Qur'an, Islamic songs, and sermons by the mosque's imam. When they were told that selling in the mosque is not permissible...

The questioner : In one of the mosques in Damascus, some young men are selling recording tapes of the Qur'an, Islamic songs, and sermons by the mosque's preacher. When they were told that selling in the mosque is not permissible, especially since they advertise these tapes on the walls, they replied that it is for a purely Islamic purpose and not for trade? What is the opinion on this?

The Shaykh : This has nothing to do with Islam. This follows the European rule that "the end justifies the means." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling in the mosques. This is a foreign philosophy in Islam: that if it is for Islam, then selling in the mosque of Islam is permissible. In reality, this means that if it were not for the limited time, I would remind you in the next session, and I would make my speech a place of encouragement and warning, reminding and cautioning the young people now in the lower-level call who claim to care for the Book and the Sunnah, yet they commit the greatest effort and cannot interpret a verse or a hadith, so they permit and forbid based on a non-Islamic rule: "the end justifies the means". We must remind these people in a session, if Allah wills, for about half an hour, perhaps there will be a reminder in it.