Ruling on spending zakah for the construction of mosques

Q: What is the ruling on spending zakah on wealth for the construction of a mosque that is nearing completion, and whose construction has been halted?

A: What is known among all scholars, and it is the opinion of the majority and the most numerous, and it is like a consensus among the scholars of the righteous early Salaf, is that zakah is not spent on the maintenance of mosques, the purchase of books, or the like. Rather, it is spent on the eight categories mentioned in the verse in Surat al-Tawbah, which are: the poor, the needy, those who work on it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, freeing captives, those in debt, in the cause of Allah, and the wayfarer.
And "in the cause of Allah" is specific to jihad. This is what is known among the people of knowledge, and it does not include spending it on the maintenance of mosques, nor on the maintenance of schools, nor on roads, or the like. And success is from Allah.