Ruling on Considering Buildings and Mosques as "Heritage" and Visiting Them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Are old buildings and old mosques considered heritage in this sense?
Answer:
If they are related to the religion, such as the mosques, schools, and hostels that Muslims built for the sake of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, they are called heritage; because they are remnants, as mentioned earlier: heritage is the remnant, the remnant of what came before. So what the predecessors left for us is called heritage, whether it is a building, a movable item, or otherwise.
But if it is of the things that Islam calls for and makes attractive, it is called Islamic heritage.
And if it is of the ordinary matters that have no connection to Islam, it is ordinary heritage, worldly heritage, with no connection to Islam: such as vessels, or houses, or homes that have no connection to Islam. This is ordinary heritage, heritage of the ancients of such and such: from Najd, from Yemen, from the Levant, from Turkey, according to where it is located.
And if it contains something that benefits Muslims: such as the hostels for scholars and students of knowledge, or hadith scholars, or jurists; this is Islamic heritage. Or the well-known mosques: Islamic heritage without a doubt, and likewise the well-known schools, and what is similar to that which is related to Muslims.
Q: What is the ruling on visiting them for the purpose of inspection?
The Shaykh: There is nothing wrong with visiting for the purpose of inspection. Visiting schools and hostels to inspect them, or strange things one likes to look at: strange palaces, or strange buildings. What is prohibited is traveling long distances for worship. One does not travel long distances except to three mosques, if the intention is worship in them. But if the intention is something else, such as supervising them and knowing how they were built, or if there are things one wants to know about the design, or other things that necessitate knowing them; there is no harm. Just as one travels for trade or other than trade.
Are old buildings and old mosques considered heritage in this sense?
Answer:
If they are related to the religion, such as the mosques, schools, and hostels that Muslims built for the sake of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, they are called heritage; because they are remnants, as mentioned earlier: heritage is the remnant, the remnant of what came before. So what the predecessors left for us is called heritage, whether it is a building, a movable item, or otherwise.
But if it is of the things that Islam calls for and makes attractive, it is called Islamic heritage.
And if it is of the ordinary matters that have no connection to Islam, it is ordinary heritage, worldly heritage, with no connection to Islam: such as vessels, or houses, or homes that have no connection to Islam. This is ordinary heritage, heritage of the ancients of such and such: from Najd, from Yemen, from the Levant, from Turkey, according to where it is located.
And if it contains something that benefits Muslims: such as the hostels for scholars and students of knowledge, or hadith scholars, or jurists; this is Islamic heritage. Or the well-known mosques: Islamic heritage without a doubt, and likewise the well-known schools, and what is similar to that which is related to Muslims.
Q: What is the ruling on visiting them for the purpose of inspection?
The Shaykh: There is nothing wrong with visiting for the purpose of inspection. Visiting schools and hostels to inspect them, or strange things one likes to look at: strange palaces, or strange buildings. What is prohibited is traveling long distances for worship. One does not travel long distances except to three mosques, if the intention is worship in them. But if the intention is something else, such as supervising them and knowing how they were built, or if there are things one wants to know about the design, or other things that necessitate knowing them; there is no harm. Just as one travels for trade or other than trade.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.