What is the ruling on renting out tents in Mina and the Sacred Precinct?
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The questioner : If someone were to say... does it have a basis?
The Shaykh : By Allah, the issue of you renting it out and not giving him [the money] is not what we issue a ruling for, even if it is valid. But this opens the door to evil. Then, you have concluded a contract with him, so it is more befitting for you to fulfill the contract. Let the sin be upon him. Let this be part of the expenses of Hajj, and let the sin be upon him, just as people used to do with the *khafarah*. Do you know what *khafarah* is?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : *Khafarah* used to be that there were highway robbers on the roads. The Bedouin from the tribe through whose territory the road passed would say, "I will protect you from the people, but I ask for money." They would give him money. If his people attacked this caravan, he would say, "Leave us alone, so-and-so ibn so-and-so is with us, who is one of them." When he said that, they would stop. People used to use this in the past, meaning until recently, no one would travel, for example, from al-Qasim to Makkah without taking with him three or four [guards] depending on the tribes he passed through. Praise be to Allah, now we ask Allah to make the security last.
The questioner : Now, O Shaykh, it must be that there is no permissibility...
The Shaykh : By Allah, some of the brothers asked me, and I said, "I give it to them, and the sin is upon them. Do not open the door to evil." Yes, if we assume that a person refuses, he will reach a satisfactory result, but he will also reach a dispute and hardship.
The questioner : It is not permissible, O Shaykh, to rent out...
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for the lessor.
The questioner : It is not permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. As for the tents, it is permissible to rent them out because they are his property and are not a building, because a building remains standing, and he says, "I am renting out the tent." Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The evidence...?
The Shaykh : The evidence is from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. As for the Qur'an, it is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Hajj 22:25] Yes, He said: This includes all of the Sacred Precinct. There is also a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): But it is weak. Then, during the caliphate of 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him), the houses of the people of Makkah were open for the pilgrims. The owner of the house would stay in a quarter of it, and the rest was open for the pilgrims.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The one who is?
The questioner : The one who is the lessor.
The Shaykh : Meaning, the one who rents out the tents.
The questioner : And he says, "I am renting out the tents," and the tent is not even worth a thousand riyals, he says...
The Shaykh : Yes, they are competing with people, but I see that they should be given [the money], and the sin is upon them, and we are safe from problems. Yes?
The questioner : O Shaykh, we derived the ruling from this verse.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : We derived the ruling from this verse, which mentions... the Sacred Precinct and the Sacred Mosque only...
The Shaykh : There is no doubt. We said that those who derived the ruling from this say that the Sacred Mosque is the entire Sacred Precinct. Yes?
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : By Allah, the issue of you renting it out and not giving him [the money] is not what we issue a ruling for, even if it is valid. But this opens the door to evil. Then, you have concluded a contract with him, so it is more befitting for you to fulfill the contract. Let the sin be upon him. Let this be part of the expenses of Hajj, and let the sin be upon him, just as people used to do with the *khafarah*. Do you know what *khafarah* is?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : *Khafarah* used to be that there were highway robbers on the roads. The Bedouin from the tribe through whose territory the road passed would say, "I will protect you from the people, but I ask for money." They would give him money. If his people attacked this caravan, he would say, "Leave us alone, so-and-so ibn so-and-so is with us, who is one of them." When he said that, they would stop. People used to use this in the past, meaning until recently, no one would travel, for example, from al-Qasim to Makkah without taking with him three or four [guards] depending on the tribes he passed through. Praise be to Allah, now we ask Allah to make the security last.
The questioner : Now, O Shaykh, it must be that there is no permissibility...
The Shaykh : By Allah, some of the brothers asked me, and I said, "I give it to them, and the sin is upon them. Do not open the door to evil." Yes, if we assume that a person refuses, he will reach a satisfactory result, but he will also reach a dispute and hardship.
The questioner : It is not permissible, O Shaykh, to rent out...
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for the lessor.
The questioner : It is not permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. As for the tents, it is permissible to rent them out because they are his property and are not a building, because a building remains standing, and he says, "I am renting out the tent." Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The evidence...?
The Shaykh : The evidence is from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. As for the Qur'an, it is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
those who have disbelieved and avert [people] from the way of Allah and [from] al-Masjid al-Haram, which We made for the people - equal are the resident therein and one from outside
الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرامِ الَّذِي جَعَلْناهُ لِلنَّاسِ سَواءً الْعاكِفُ فِيهِ وَالْبادِand the Sacred Mosque
والمسجد الحرامand the Sacred Mosque
والمسجد الحرامMakkah is sacred; it is forbidden to sell it and forbidden to rent it out.
مكة حرام بيعها وحرام إجارتهاThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The one who is?
The questioner : The one who is the lessor.
The Shaykh : Meaning, the one who rents out the tents.
The questioner : And he says, "I am renting out the tents," and the tent is not even worth a thousand riyals, he says...
The Shaykh : Yes, they are competing with people, but I see that they should be given [the money], and the sin is upon them, and we are safe from problems. Yes?
The questioner : O Shaykh, we derived the ruling from this verse.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : We derived the ruling from this verse, which mentions... the Sacred Precinct and the Sacred Mosque only...
The Shaykh : There is no doubt. We said that those who derived the ruling from this say that the Sacred Mosque is the entire Sacred Precinct. Yes?
The questioner : May Allah reward you.