Fatwa n° 215

Category: Fatwas about Prayer – Mosques

The ruling concerning renting Al-Waqf
(religious endowment) that belongs to the mosque

Question:

A woman would like to know whether or not it is permissible for her -or for others- to take the mosque as a place to earn a living by providing lessons (teaching), both in literacy or lessons related to a program of study; taking into consideration that she needs money and she did not find a job that satisfies her needs. In addition, she thought to give a part of that money to the mosque because without the mosque, there is no other place to provide these lessons and gain money. Therefore, it is like renting a space for this job. May Allah bless you, and may He reward you -on our behalf- with what is best.

Answer:

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessing be upon whom Allah sent as a mercy to the Worlds, upon his Family, his Companions and his Brothers until the Day of Resurrection:

If she uses one of the parts that belong steadily to the mosque in a way that she makes use of the endowment for a personal interest or eliminates -through such an act- the character of the mosque’s endowment that is reserved for Dhikr (remembrance and mentioning of Allah عزّ وجلّ) as well as for the prayer, then this act is not valid because of the endowment is religiously in force; and in such a case, it is not permissible neither to sell or grant it nor dispose of it in any way that eliminates its character of Waqf (endowment).

When it comes to renting one of the parts of the mosque that has a nominal dependency to the mosque or is separated from it, in a way that the price of the rental goes to the endowment, then, in this case, we should take into consideration the type of the rental as well as the content of the teaching, if they are in harmony and go along with the mosque’s goals and do not contradict it, then it is permissible, otherwise it is not.  Moreover, the matter should be referred to the person in charge of Al-Waqf and to his estimation ⁽¹⁾.

The perfect knowledge belongs to Allah عزَّ وجلَّ; and our last prayer is all the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and prayers of Allah are to Muhammad and his Family, Companions and Brothers until the Day of Resurrection.

Algiers, Sha‘bân 9^th, 1418 H
Corresponding to December 9^th, 1997 G.