A woman bequeathed all her gold upon her death to the mosque and for cold water, knowing that cold water is available in this mosque, where there are coolers.
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The questioner : A woman bequeathed all her gold upon her death to the mosque and for cold water, knowing that cold water is available in this mosque, where there are coolers. Is it permissible to sell this gold and buy air conditioners for the mosque, knowing that the heirs do not object to executing this bequest in its entirety, rather than just the one-third prescribed by the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh : Yes. If the heirs agree to execute this bequest, it is executed as the woman stated. If it turns out that the mosque is in no need of cooling the water because it has coolers, then the funds are directed to another mosque to buy coolers for it, because drinking water is better than air conditioning. However, one should strive to ensure that the alternative mosque is like the first one in terms of the number of people and their benefit from the water. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This is a female questioner, your sister in Allah, Sa'ida, who says in her question.
The Shaykh : Yes. If the heirs agree to execute this bequest, it is executed as the woman stated. If it turns out that the mosque is in no need of cooling the water because it has coolers, then the funds are directed to another mosque to buy coolers for it, because drinking water is better than air conditioning. However, one should strive to ensure that the alternative mosque is like the first one in terms of the number of people and their benefit from the water. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This is a female questioner, your sister in Allah, Sa'ida, who says in her question.
