Question
What do the scholars of religion say regarding this issue: if a Hindu person willingly gives some money to urinate in the mosque’s well or in the mosque, can it be considered permissible according to Sharia to urinate in the well or mosque or not? بنيوا توجروا
Answer
One should inquire about the source of the money; if it is completely lawful, then there is no harm in accepting it, and it can also be used for mosques, etc. The Kaaba was built by the disbelievers, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not object to it; he only said that they had made the Kaaba smaller and raised the door. If this nation had been Muslim at that time, I would have built the Kaaba on its original foundations and aligned the door with the ground, making two doors: one for entering and one for exiting.
From this, it is understood that money from disbelievers can be used for mosques, provided it is earned lawfully. Accordingly, this hadith clarifies that the disbelievers collected lawful money and used it to build the Kaaba, but since lawful money became scarce, they made the Kaaba smaller.
There is no other harm in using disbelievers’ money for mosques, except that it causes disgrace and becomes a reason for objection that Muslims have become so dishonorable that they cannot even maintain their places of worship without the help of others. To avoid this disgrace and objection, it is better to take money from disbelievers and give it to some poor needy person. Indeed, the Kaaba was built by disbelievers with their lawful earnings, but at that time the Kaaba was under their control, and the Muslim community did not exist then, as this event occurred before prophethood. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was about twelve or thirteen years old at that time. The current mosques are under Muslim control now. Therefore, it is better to build them with Muslims’ own money. (Abdullah Amr Tasri, Editor of Tanzim)
