Ruling on relocating a mosque if its utility ceases
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and all his Companions. As for what follows:
A question has reached me, the substance of which is: A group of Muslims residing in South Africa built a mosque in their neighborhood, where they perform the Friday prayer, congregational prayers, and the festival prayers. Their government has ordered them to vacate that neighborhood and relocate to another area.
Is it permissible to sell the aforementioned mosque through the judge or the person in charge of it, and to build another mosque in the new neighborhood where they reside? And is it sold in its form as a mosque, or are changes made to it, such as removing the mihrab, the minbar, and the minaret, and everything that indicates it is a mosque, or is it demolished and sold as bare land? It is known that in this case, its value would decrease significantly, to the point of being worth nothing?
Answer:
The answer is: There is no doubt that the utility of the aforementioned mosque will cease if the Muslims leave the neighborhood in which it is located. If the utility of an endowment ceases, whether it is a mosque or otherwise, it is permissible to sell it according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, and its value is to be spent on another endowment in its place, similar to the first endowment, where possible. It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he ordered the relocation of the mosque in Kufa to another location due to a necessity that required it.
Therefore, the cessation of utility is more deserving of the permissibility of relocation. There is scholarly disagreement on this issue, but the relied-upon position is that it is permissible; because the complete Islamic Shari'ah came to secure benefits and perfect them, and to disable harms and minimize them. It commanded the preservation of wealth and prohibited its waste. There is no doubt that if an endowment ceases to be useful, there is no benefit in its remaining, rather, its remaining is a waste of wealth. Thus, it is obligatory that it be sold and its price spent on its equivalent, unless selling a part of it is sufficient to repair it, in which case a part of it is sold, and its price is spent on repairing the remainder.
As for the specific case asked about, the utility cannot be achieved except by selling the whole. So the entire mosque is sold in its current state without any reduction, and its price is spent on building the new mosque in the neighborhood to which the Muslims have moved. Once it is sold, the ruling of the mosque ceases to apply to it, and it becomes like other lands, where it is permissible to use it as a farm, shops, or the like, and the ruling of the mosque transfers to the new mosque.
As for removing what indicates that it is a mosque after the decision to sell it, such as the minaret and the like, I have not found any statement from any of the scholars on this. The closest view—and Allah knows best—is that removing it is preferable, especially if it is among the disbelievers; because they may intend to annoy the Muslims by desecrating it, looking at the fact that it was a mosque, even though its ruling has ceased. However, they do not look at the rulings, but rather at the apparent appearance. If the prominent signs of the mosque, such as the minaret and the mihrab, are removed, this concern is eliminated. And Allah knows best.
And we ask Allah, the Exalted, to rectify the conditions of the Muslims, to appoint their best ones as their leaders, and to elevate their status in every place, and to humiliate the enemies of Islam, and to protect the Muslims from their evil; for He is capable of all things. And may Allah send peace and blessings upon His servant and messenger Muhammad, and his family and his Companions.
Vice President of the University
Islamic University in Madinah al-Munawwarah
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and all his Companions. As for what follows:
A question has reached me, the substance of which is: A group of Muslims residing in South Africa built a mosque in their neighborhood, where they perform the Friday prayer, congregational prayers, and the festival prayers. Their government has ordered them to vacate that neighborhood and relocate to another area.
Is it permissible to sell the aforementioned mosque through the judge or the person in charge of it, and to build another mosque in the new neighborhood where they reside? And is it sold in its form as a mosque, or are changes made to it, such as removing the mihrab, the minbar, and the minaret, and everything that indicates it is a mosque, or is it demolished and sold as bare land? It is known that in this case, its value would decrease significantly, to the point of being worth nothing?
Answer:
The answer is: There is no doubt that the utility of the aforementioned mosque will cease if the Muslims leave the neighborhood in which it is located. If the utility of an endowment ceases, whether it is a mosque or otherwise, it is permissible to sell it according to the most correct opinion of the scholars, and its value is to be spent on another endowment in its place, similar to the first endowment, where possible. It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he ordered the relocation of the mosque in Kufa to another location due to a necessity that required it.
Therefore, the cessation of utility is more deserving of the permissibility of relocation. There is scholarly disagreement on this issue, but the relied-upon position is that it is permissible; because the complete Islamic Shari'ah came to secure benefits and perfect them, and to disable harms and minimize them. It commanded the preservation of wealth and prohibited its waste. There is no doubt that if an endowment ceases to be useful, there is no benefit in its remaining, rather, its remaining is a waste of wealth. Thus, it is obligatory that it be sold and its price spent on its equivalent, unless selling a part of it is sufficient to repair it, in which case a part of it is sold, and its price is spent on repairing the remainder.
As for the specific case asked about, the utility cannot be achieved except by selling the whole. So the entire mosque is sold in its current state without any reduction, and its price is spent on building the new mosque in the neighborhood to which the Muslims have moved. Once it is sold, the ruling of the mosque ceases to apply to it, and it becomes like other lands, where it is permissible to use it as a farm, shops, or the like, and the ruling of the mosque transfers to the new mosque.
As for removing what indicates that it is a mosque after the decision to sell it, such as the minaret and the like, I have not found any statement from any of the scholars on this. The closest view—and Allah knows best—is that removing it is preferable, especially if it is among the disbelievers; because they may intend to annoy the Muslims by desecrating it, looking at the fact that it was a mosque, even though its ruling has ceased. However, they do not look at the rulings, but rather at the apparent appearance. If the prominent signs of the mosque, such as the minaret and the mihrab, are removed, this concern is eliminated. And Allah knows best.
And we ask Allah, the Exalted, to rectify the conditions of the Muslims, to appoint their best ones as their leaders, and to elevate their status in every place, and to humiliate the enemies of Islam, and to protect the Muslims from their evil; for He is capable of all things. And may Allah send peace and blessings upon His servant and messenger Muhammad, and his family and his Companions.
Vice President of the University
Islamic University in Madinah al-Munawwarah
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.