We received this message from a boy who says, “I am twelve years old and I am committed to performing the obligatory prayers in congregation. When we go on a trip in the desert, I build a small mosque to the best of my ability, furnish it, and call the adhan for every obligatory prayer in the mosque I have built. I pray with my younger brothers in this mosque, and after the prayer I tell my brothers what I know of the Prophetic hadiths. I do this on every trip to the desert. I ask you to inform me of the ruling on this work, knowing that I am very keen on building mosques in any place and at any time. I ask you to inform me whether it is permissible to demolish this mosque I have built and build any other project in its place, knowing that it is very small?”
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The questioner : From the boy Abd al-Rahman from al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. We received this message in which he says, “I am twelve years old and I am committed to performing the obligatory prayers in congregation. When we go on a trip in the desert, I build a small mosque to the best of my ability, furnish it, and call the adhan for every obligatory prayer in the mosque I have built. I pray with my younger brothers in this mosque, and after the prayer I tell my brothers what I know of the Prophetic hadiths. I do this on every trip to the desert. I ask you to inform me of the ruling on this work, knowing that I am very keen on building mosques in any place and at any time. I ask you to inform me whether it is permissible to demolish this mosque I have built and build any other project in its place, knowing that it is very small?”
The Shaykh : I say: We thank you, O boy, for this noble deed, and we ask for success and steadfastness for you. This is a good deed. If your ambition is directed toward building mosques, then whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. As for these mosques you are building, if you are building them on the roads and with a solid construction intended to last, then you should not demolish them; rather, they should remain until they benefit the Muslims. However, if they are in remote areas away from the roads, and only those who stop there or pass by benefit from them, and they are not built with a solid construction, then there is no blame on you if you demolish them. And if you leave them standing, there is no blame on you either.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Provided that the land is not owned by someone else. If the land is owned by another person, it is not permissible for you to construct a building on it.
The Shaykh : I say: We thank you, O boy, for this noble deed, and we ask for success and steadfastness for you. This is a good deed. If your ambition is directed toward building mosques, then whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. As for these mosques you are building, if you are building them on the roads and with a solid construction intended to last, then you should not demolish them; rather, they should remain until they benefit the Muslims. However, if they are in remote areas away from the roads, and only those who stop there or pass by benefit from them, and they are not built with a solid construction, then there is no blame on you if you demolish them. And if you leave them standing, there is no blame on you either.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Provided that the land is not owned by someone else. If the land is owned by another person, it is not permissible for you to construct a building on it.