❖ Waqf Income, Zakāh, and Mosque Construction – Sharʿī Guidelines
Reference: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Vol. 1, p. 192
❀ Question Summary
A piece of land has been made waqf in a locality. People are spending its income in different ways according to their own will. Some mosques are in dire need of roofing, wells, etc.
The questions:
① Can the income of waqf land be used for roofing a mosque?
② Can it be spent on building wells or bridges?
③ Can it be used for buying religious books, paying teachers’ salaries, or helping students?
④ Can the land be sold and its price used for mosque construction?
⑤ Can zakāh, ṣadaqat al-fiṭr, or ʿushr be spent on mosque repair, teachers, and students, since some of the categories listed in the Qur’an are difficult to apply in present times?
❀ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
① Conditions of Waqf Must Be Honored
- If the waqif (founder of the waqf) specified where the income should be spent, then it is obligatory to follow those conditions.
- Spending on anything else besides the specified purpose is not permissible.
② If No Specific Usage Was Stated
If the waqif only said that the income should be used for “good works” without specifying, then it may be spent on:
✔ Mosque construction or repair (roofing, etc.)
✔ Building wells or bridges
✔ Teachers’ salaries
✔ Student scholarships
✔ Purchase of religious books for public benefit
This is valid because no condition is being violated.
③ Selling Waqf Land
- It is not permissible to sell waqf land.
- Exception: If the land has lost all utility and produces no benefit at all, then it may be sold, and the proceeds used for similar or other religious needs.
Evidence: The Prophet ﷺ said regarding ʿUmar’s waqf:
“لَا يُبَاع“ – “It must not be sold.”
[Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Shurūṭ 3/185; Muslim, Kitāb al-Waṣiyyah 3/1255, ḥadīth 1738]
④ Zakāh, Fiṭrah, and ʿUshr
- Zakāh has eight specified categories in the Qur’an [al-Tawbah: 60].
- These categories are still applicable today, particularly in India, such as:
❀ The poor (fuqarāʾ)
❀ The needy (masākīn)
❀ Zakāh collectors (ʿāmilīn ʿalayhā) – if appointed by a proper system
❀ Those whose hearts are to be reconciled (muʾallafah al-qulūb)
❀ Debtors (gharimīn)
❀ The traveler (ibn al-sabīl)
Unfortunately, some people ignore these clearly stated categories.
⑤ Spending Zakāh on Mosques
- Zakāh is described as “awsākh al-nās” (the impurities of people’s wealth).
- For this reason, it is not permissible to use zakāh for mosque construction or repair.
⑥ Zakāh for Madrasahs, Teachers, and Students
- Including madrasahs and teachers under “fī sabīlillāh” or “al-ʿāmilīn” is a matter of scholarly debate.
- However, poor students who genuinely qualify as fuqarāʾ and masākīn may receive:
✔ Zakāh
✔ ʿUshr
✔ Ṣadaqat al-Fiṭr
✔ Proceeds of sacrificial animal hides
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
