A friend of mine took a mushaf from the mosque to read in it, then gave it to me. What must I do? Do I return it to the mosque, or do I keep it?
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The questioner : He has another question, O honorable Shaykh. He says: A friend of mine took a mushaf from the mosque to read in it, then gave it to me. What must I do? Do I return it to the mosque, or do I keep it? I hope for your guidance on this?
The Shaykh : First, it must be known that the endowments (waqf) in the mosques are not permissible for anyone to take out of the mosque, even for the purpose of benefiting from them. It is not permissible to take out a mushaf to read in it at home, nor to take out a book that is an endowment in the mosque to review it at home, nor to take an electrical appliance or other item to benefit from it at home. Whatever is designated for the mosque, it is not permissible to take it out of it. Some people have mistakenly thought that because the mushafs in the mosques are a general endowment for everyone who enters the mosque, it is permissible for a person to benefit from them alone in his home. This is a mistaken assumption, because if you take them, people may come to the mosque who need them, and you would have deprived them of them. Even if there are many mushafs, many people may enter the mosque.
In any case, whatever is designated for the mosque, it is not permissible for anyone to appropriate it for himself in his home, nor even to appropriate it for himself in the mosque in such a way that he takes the mushaf and reads from it, and when he is finished, he places it in a specific spot where no one can access it, so that he can read from it when he comes to the mosque. This is because public items must be for the public.
As for the questioner’s question, where he said that his friend gave him a mushaf that he took from the mosque, it is obligatory for him to return this mushaf to the mosque from which his friend took it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
O beloved brothers, O noble listening brothers, the honorable Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, professor at the College of Sharia and Principles of Religion in Qassim, and preacher and imam of the Grand Mosque in the city of Unaizah, has answered your questions.
The Shaykh : First, it must be known that the endowments (waqf) in the mosques are not permissible for anyone to take out of the mosque, even for the purpose of benefiting from them. It is not permissible to take out a mushaf to read in it at home, nor to take out a book that is an endowment in the mosque to review it at home, nor to take an electrical appliance or other item to benefit from it at home. Whatever is designated for the mosque, it is not permissible to take it out of it. Some people have mistakenly thought that because the mushafs in the mosques are a general endowment for everyone who enters the mosque, it is permissible for a person to benefit from them alone in his home. This is a mistaken assumption, because if you take them, people may come to the mosque who need them, and you would have deprived them of them. Even if there are many mushafs, many people may enter the mosque.
In any case, whatever is designated for the mosque, it is not permissible for anyone to appropriate it for himself in his home, nor even to appropriate it for himself in the mosque in such a way that he takes the mushaf and reads from it, and when he is finished, he places it in a specific spot where no one can access it, so that he can read from it when he comes to the mosque. This is because public items must be for the public.
As for the questioner’s question, where he said that his friend gave him a mushaf that he took from the mosque, it is obligatory for him to return this mushaf to the mosque from which his friend took it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
O beloved brothers, O noble listening brothers, the honorable Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, professor at the College of Sharia and Principles of Religion in Qassim, and preacher and imam of the Grand Mosque in the city of Unaizah, has answered your questions.