Question
What authority does the mosque custodian have in the mosque according to Shariah, which he can undoubtedly exercise over the worshippers of the mosque? If the sweeper and the muezzin of the mosque have been appointed with the consensus of everyone and people are pleased with him, does he not apparently belong to the custodian? Can the custodian suspend him due to personal opposition or with the intention of interfering and gaining control over the mosque, or not? Similarly, if the imam of the mosque has been appointed with the opinion and consent of all worshippers and has been leading prayers for a long time and everyone is pleased with him, can the custodian suspend him solely by his own authority without consultation and without the consent of other worshippers, or not? Likewise, can the custodian appoint any imam or muezzin solely based on his own opinion without consulting other worshippers of the mosque?
Answer
These are the duties related to the mosque trustee. Managing the mosque according to Shariah, collecting and receiving its income, and spending it on necessary expenses, and appointing the Imam and Mu’adhdhin. All these matters should not be done without consulting the mosque attendees; acting without consultation is risky. Because the mosque people might develop suspicion and displeasure towards the trustee due to some action, leading to disputes. Whereas Allah Almighty has emphasized consultation to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, as He said:
﴿وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ﴾
Although it was said about you:
﴿النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ﴾
“(Meaning that the Prophet has such control over the lives and wealth of the believers that even they themselves do not have that much control.)”
Then how much more is the need for consultation for others besides the Prophet? The nature of the Prophet’s consultation is mentioned in various hadiths. In another place, Allah Almighty has described this attribute of His righteous servants.
﴿وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ﴾
The mosque trustee cannot suspend the Imam and Mu’adhdhin without consulting the mosque attendees and without a valid Shariah reason, especially when the other attendees are pleased. And when the mosque people are displeased with an Imam, such an Imam’s prayer is not accepted, and appointing such an Imam is not correct. It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amr that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«ثلاثة لا يقبل الله منهم صلٰوة من تقدم وهم له كارهون» الحديث رواه ابو دائود و ابن ماجه كذا فى المنتقي
“Meaning, Allah Almighty does not accept the prayer of the person who steps forward to lead the prayer while the people are displeased with his leadership.”
Several other narrations with similar meaning have also come. Under this hadith, I have written in
:
واحاديث الباب يقوي بعضها بعضا فينفض للاستدلال بها على التحريم ان يكونا لرجل اما مالقوم يكرهونه ويدل على التحريم نفي قبول الصلوة
It is further written:
وقد قيد ذالك جماعة من أهل العلم بالكراهية الدينية بسبب شرعي فأما الكراهية لغير الدين فلا عبرة بها وقيدوه أيضاً بأن يكون الكارهون أكثر المامومين ولا اعتبار الكراهية الواحد والاثنين والثلاثة
“Meaning, a group of scholars has stipulated that the dislike of the followers towards the Imam must be due to a Shariah reason; if the dislike is not for a religious reason but for some other purpose, then it is not considered. And the mentioned scholars have also stipulated that the dislike should be from the majority of the followers; the dislike of one or two is not considered when the group of followers is large.” ( هذا ما عندي خليل الرحمن مدرس مدرسه الحديث والفرقان)
The correct answer according to the authentic Book and Sunnah is that the trustee should consult; working with consultation is better. The issue of consultation is elaborated in Sahih Bukhari.
حَامِدًا ومُصَلِّيًا
It is clear that what Khalili, the teacher of Hadith and Furqan, has written regarding these issues is very correct and precise; it is sufficient to awaken the heedless and alert the wise, and it is a healing remedy for the disease of negligence as confirmed by the great scholars and virtuous elders. However, as far as I think, the need for these questions arises from the personal opposition to the trustee, which has emerged from a Shariah weakness. If my thought is correct, then thousands of such fatwas cannot harm the trustee, because every cause is removed by removing its reasons. Therefore, in my opinion, the appropriate measure is that the prominent attendees of that mosque should collectively strive and remove the cause of opposition. If those people cannot do it, then the Muslim parties and the scholars of both sides should be asked to reconcile. And if indeed my thought is not correct, rather the trustee knows regarding these issues that sleeping in the mosque or teaching children, etc., is not permissible, or the trustee, as a trustee, is the owner and master, then there is no need to consult the mosque attendees in any matter. Then the trustee should sincerely and wholeheartedly consider that permissible fatwa and act upon what is established by Shariah, and do not feel any shame in accepting the truth.
Firstly, consider well that the foundation of Muhammadan Shariah is based on agreement and mutual consultation. The Master of the Universe, the summary of creation, the Prophet ﷺ was commanded by Allah Almighty to consult the companions.
﴿وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ﴾
Although revelation continued to come for every matter, and a special and distinguished attribute of the Muslims was stated.
﴿وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ﴾
And the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ says:
« إذا كان أمراؤكم خياركم وأغنياؤكم سمحاءكم وأموركم شورى بينكم فظهر الأرض خير لكم من بطنها وإذا كان أمراؤكم شراركم وأغنياؤكم بخلاءكم وأموركم إلى نسائكم فبطن الأرض خير لكم من ظهرها »
“Meaning, O Muslims! When your leaders do good deeds and the wealthy are generous, and your affairs are by mutual consultation, then living on the earth is better for you than being inside it. And if the opposite happens, then being buried inside the earth is better for you than living on it.”
This hadith is worthy of reflection and lesson. The trustee should consider it and never consider himself independent but consult the mosque attendees for every matter. Implement what is decided by consultation. Also, take care of the mosque’s population and its income. In my opinion, such a trustee is not worthy of trusteeship who does not consult among themselves and arbitrarily decides black and white. Rather, such a trustee’s trusteeship is absolutely invalid. Because when there is a clear Shariah ruling regarding Imamat that no Imam should be appointed whom the people dislike, then how can such a trustee be worthy of trusteeship who arbitrarily troubles the people? The question clearly shows that the trustee wants to run a tyrannical trusteeship, which is not permissible in any way. Therefore, the divine law
﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ﴾
The mosque attendees should stop the trustee or else remove him.
وهذا هو الحق أن يتبع والسّلام على من اتبع الهدي.
( حرره الراجي رحمة ربه القوي ابو النعمان الاعظمي السوي صانه اللّٰه عن كل غبي و غوي)
