The ruling on disposing of a mosque building after it has been abandoned

Question:
What is the ruling on moving the stones of a very old mosque, which has been destroyed by floods over the passage of time, and which may contain a grave? Is it permissible for any Muslim to move its stones to his house and take them as his property?

Answer:
If a mosque or the like is ruined by a flood or other causes, it is prescribed for the people of the district where the mosque is located to restore it and establish prayer in it; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and based on the saying of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): , narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah with a good chain of narration. The term "districts" refers to tribes, neighborhoods, and the like. There are many hadiths regarding the virtue of restoring mosques.
If there is a mosque in the district that suffices for the people, its stones and rubble should be transferred to another mosque in another district or town that needs them. It is the responsibility of the one in authority in the town where the aforementioned mosque is located, whether a judge, an emir, a tribal sheikh, or the like, to take care of this matter, and to transfer this rubble to the restoration of mosques that need it, or to sell it and use the proceeds for the interests of the Muslims. No one from the people of the town may take any of it without the permission of the one in authority.
If there is a grave in the mosque, it is obligatory to dig it up and transfer any bones found within it to the town's cemetery, where a grave should be dug for them and they should be buried; because it is not permissible in the Shari'ah to place graves in mosques, nor to build mosques on top of them; because that is one of the means of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and fitnah (trial) regarding graves, as has occurred in most Muslim lands for long periods of time, due to the exaggeration in the status of the people of the graves.
It is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the digging up of the graves that were in the location of his mosque (peace and blessings be upon him). It is established in the two Sahihs from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: . In Sahih Muslim, from Abu Mirdad al-Ghunawi, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: . Also in Sahih Muslim, from Jundub ibn Abdullah al-Bajali, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: .
And from Umm Salama and Umm Habiba (may Allah be pleased with them both), that they mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a church they had seen in Abyssinia and the images in it, so he said: . In Sahih Muslim, from Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building on them." Al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) added in his narration with a sound chain: "and writing on them."
These hadiths and what comes in their meaning all indicate the prohibition of building on graves, making them into mosques, praying toward them, plastering them, and the like of that which is among the causes of shirk with their inhabitants. Included in this is placing curtains on them, writing on them, pouring perfumes on them, and burning incense on them; because all of this is among the means of exaggeration in them and shirk with their people.
Therefore, it is obligatory for all Muslims to be cautious of this and to warn against it, and especially the ones in authority, for their obligation is greater and their responsibility is more significant; because they are more capable than others of removing these munkar (evil) and other things. Due to their negligence and the silence of many of those attributed to knowledge, these evils have multiplied and spread in most Islamic lands, and shirk has occurred as a result, and people have fallen into what the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance fell into, who worshipped al-Lat, al-Uzza, Manat, and others, and said as Allah mentioned about them in His great Book: [Yunus:18], and they said: [Az-Zumar:3]. The scholars have mentioned that if a grave is placed in a mosque, it is obligatory to dig it up and remove it from the mosque. And if the mosque was built later after the existence of the grave, it is obligatory to demolish the mosque and remove it; because it is the mosque that brought about the evil by its construction; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) warned his ummah (community) against building mosques on graves, and cursed the Jews and Christians for that, and forbade his ummah from imitating them, and said to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) : .
And Allah is the One to be asked to rectify the conditions of all Muslims, and to grant them understanding in their religion, and to rectify their leaders, and to unite their word upon taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), and to make them successful in ruling by His Shari'ah, and being cautious of what contradicts it. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble.
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

President of the Islamic University
In the Holy City of Madinah