Question
What do the scholars of religion say regarding this issue, that a person bought some land for the mosque, but there was already a two-story building on that land. The buyer wants to use the upper floor as a mosque and rent out the lower floor to spend the rent on the mosque. In this case, will this be considered a mosque, and will it be permissible to rent out the building? بينوا توجروا
Answer
In the above-mentioned case, it should be understood that according to the teachings of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, the described situation is permissible and correct. It will hold the ruling of a mosque, and it will be permissible to rent out the place for the interests of the mosque so that the mosque remains sound and always inhabited. It is correct and permissible to derive income for its necessary expenses, just as the Prophet, peace be upon him, made a room inside the Prophet’s Mosque for the comfort of the mosque’s servant, neither on the edge nor outside, but inside the mosque, and he used to reside there, as found in Sahih Bukhari on page 63 and also on page 66, where the Prophet, peace be upon him, had set up tents in the Prophet’s Mosque for the benefit of some people, and they stayed there for a period.
In short, building a house inside, under, or above the mosque for the interests of the mosque is correct and permissible. Such a house will not remove the mosque from the ruling of a mosque, as these two hadiths indicate. It is also the command of Allah and His Messenger that where there is no specific Shariah ruling, it is permissible to deduce from the general Shariah ruling, as found in Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, and especially in Bukhari on page 1093.
سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الحمر فقال: «ما انزل الله على فيها الّا هذه الاٰية الجامعة ﴿فمن يعمل مثقال ذرّة خيرا يره﴾ الاية»
“When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked about donkeys, he said that no separate ruling was revealed to me for them, so this comprehensive verse applies: ‘Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.'”12
Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, opened a chapter on this باب الأحكام التى تعرف بالدلائل الخ. Also, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that Allah has declared unlawful what He intended to forbid and lawful what He intended to permit, and where He remained silent, it means it is forgiven, as found in Mishkat on page 24 from Abu Tha’laba al-Khashni.
It is as clear as the sun that Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him, have not prohibited building a house above or below the mosque for the interests of the mosque. Rather, Allah Almighty has said:
﴿ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ ۚ ﴾
“Allah has not placed any hardship upon you in religion.”12
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
«يسرو او لا تعسروا» الحديث
“Make things easy and do not make them difficult.”12
This means that scholars should not impose hardship where Allah and His Messenger have not commanded strictness but should issue rulings of ease. Now, any sensible person can tell whether the ease in permitting the mentioned house for the mosque is ease or hardship. Also, authentic hadiths prohibit wastefulness of wealth, so any intelligent person can tell whether forbidding the mosque in question would be wastefulness or not.
In short, from these hadiths and verses, it is established that the mosque in question holds the ruling of a mosque, and renting out the lower house for the interests of the mosque is permissible and correct. In Tafsir al-Kabir under the verse:
﴿فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ﴾
“By your Lord, they will not believe until they make you a judge in what they dispute.”12
It is written that general texts of the Book and Sunnah take precedence over general analogies.
والله اعلم وعلم اتم واكمل. حرره العاجز ابو محمد عبد الوهاب الملتاني نزيل الدهلي تجاوز اللّٰه عن ذنبه الخفي والجلي فى اوائل شهر جمادي الاوليٰ من ۱۳۱۹ه على صاحبها افضل صلوٰة وازكي تحية اللهم ارزقني علما نافعا والعمل بما تحب
And may Sayyid Muhammad Nazeer Hussain be successful:… In the described case, if the customer has dedicated the lower floor for the interests of the mosque and has retained no connection with it, then indeed it is a mosque in the ruling of a mosque because there is no Shariah evidence that it is not a mosque, and renting out the lower floor for mosque expenses is also permissible as there is no reason for prohibition. The Hanafi jurists have also clarified that in such a case, the mosque will remain under the ruling of a mosque. It is stated in Durre Mukhtar:
“لو بنيٰ بيتا فوقه للامام لا يضر لانه من المصالح اما لو تمت المسجدية ثم ارادا بناء منع ولو قال عبنيت ذلك لم يصدق”
“If a house is built above the mosque for the residence of the Imam, it is correct because it is part of the mosque’s habitation. However, if the mosque is full and then a house is built on it, it is prohibited, and if someone says that this was my original intention, it will not be accepted as true.”
And in Al-Shami it is stated:
“يؤخذ من التعليل ان محل عدم كونه مسجدا فيما إذا لم يكن وقفا على المصالح المسجد وبه صرح فى الاسعاف فقال وإذا كان السرداب اولعلوا المصالح المسجد أو كا وفقا عليه صار مسجد أو”
“This matter depends on the purpose; if a basement or a house is built below or above the mosque for the mosque’s interest, it is correct; otherwise, it is not permissible.”12
Also, in Al-Shami it is stated:
“بقي لوجعل الواقف تحته بيتا للخلاء هل يجوز كما فى مسجد محلة الشحم فى دمشق لم اره صريحا نعم سياتي متنا فى كتاب الوقف انه لوجعل تحته سردا بالمصالحهٗ جاز انتهيٰ”
“If the waqif (donor) builds a toilet under the mosque, is it permissible or not? I have not seen a clear detailed ruling anywhere. However, if a basement is built under the mosque or a house above it for the mosque’s interest, it is permissible.”12
According to Hanafi fiqh, the permissibility of renting out the lower floor for mosque expenses is also inferred. And Allah Almighty knows best.
Is it permissible to build shops under the roof of the mosque?
It is not appropriate to build shops under the roof of the mosque, lest the mosque becomes purely the property of the servant. However, if shops are built solely for the mosque’s benefit and dedicated as waqf, and a mosque is built above them, then that mosque will be under the ruling of a mosque. In short, there may be some loss of reward. According to the closest opinion to Imam Azam, may Allah have mercy on him, and the companions, in any case, the mosque under the shops will be under the ruling of a mosque.
“إذا أراد انسان أن يتخذ تحت المسجد جوانيت غلة لمرمة المسجد أو فوقه ليس له ذلك كذا فى الخلاصة هكذا فى فتاويٰ العالمگيرية وهكذا فى البرهان أن جعل تحته سردا بالمصالحه أى المسجد جاز كمسجد بيت المقدس ولو جعل فوقه بيتا وجعل باب المسجد إلى طريق وعزله عن ملكه لا يكون مسجد اوله بيعة ويورث عنه خلافا لهما كذا فى الدر المختار وغيره”
It is clear that the cold water cistern below the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built only for buckets, ropes, mats, and resting, not for rent, and the cautious and reward-gaining opinion is that of the Imam Sahib. This is not hidden from the thoughtful and fair observer.
