Ruling on Building New Places of Worship for Dhimmī Citizens in Islamic Lands
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 866❖ Question:
Are non-Muslim citizens (dhimmīs) allowed to build new places of worship in an Islamic country?
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Islamic jurists and scholars have explicitly stated that Ahl al-Dhimmah (non-Muslim subjects under Muslim rule) are not permitted to construct new places of worship—such as churches or monasteries—in Dār al-Islām (Islamic territories). Below are authoritative statements from leading Islamic jurists across major schools of thought:
① Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf (رحمه الله):
"Christians are not allowed to construct new synagogues or churches in the city unless they were granted this right during a peace treaty. The existing churches that were part of a peace agreement will be left as they are and will not be demolished."
(Kitāb al-Kharāj, p. 127)
He further said:
"Any newly constructed church or synagogue must be demolished."
(Kitāb al-Kharāj, p. 159)
② Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī (رحمه الله) [d. 450 AH]:
"It is not permissible for Ahl al-Dhimmah to construct new synagogues or churches in Dār al-Islām. If they build them, they must be demolished."
(al-Aḥkām al-Sulṭāniyyah, p. 146)
③ Imām al-Nawawī al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) [d. 676 AH]:
"Dhimmīs are not allowed to construct new churches, synagogues, or monasteries in Muslim lands, as Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) said: ‘In any city that was established by Arabs (Muslims), non-Arabs may not build a church therein.’"
(Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, vol. 19, p. 412, Dār al-Fikr)
④ Qāḍī Abū Yaʿlā al-Ḥanbalī (رحمه الله) [d. 458 AH]:
"It is not permissible for Ahl al-Dhimmah to build synagogues or churches in Dār al-Islām; if they do, they should be demolished."
(al-Aḥkām al-Sulṭāniyyah, p. 146)
⑤ Imām Ibn Qudāmah (رحمه الله) and Imām Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله):
They mentioned the conditions of the treaty made by the Christians of Jazīrah with the caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghanm (رضي الله عنه):
"We will not construct new churches, monasteries, or monk cells in our city or its surroundings. We will not rebuild what has fallen into ruin from our existing churches, nor will we renovate any located in Muslim areas. We will keep our churches open for Muslim travelers by day and night, and we will not provide shelter for any spy."
(al-Mughnī, vol. 9, p. 282)
⑥ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله):
He confirmed the same treaty terms:
"We made a condition upon ourselves not to build a new church, monastery, or monk cell in our city or its surroundings, nor to rebuild any ruined churches."
(Aḥkām Ahl al-Dhimmah, vol. 2, pp. 259, 660; Ed. Dr. Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, Damascus)
❖ Conclusion:
From the statements of all these leading jurists, the ruling is clear:
✿ According to Islamic Sharīʿah, Ahl al-Dhimmah (Jews and Christians) are not allowed to construct new places of worship (churches, synagogues, etc.) in Islamic lands or Dār al-Islām.
✿ Even renovation or rebuilding of existing ruins is not permitted.
As related from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه):
"No church shall be constructed in Dār al-Islām, nor shall the ruins of any existing one be repaired."
(Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, vol. 19, p. 413)
Final Note:
If Jews and Christians are not permitted to build churches in Muslim lands, then how can apostate groups such as Qādiyānīs or other disbelievers be allowed to build places of worship—especially those labeled deceptively as ‘mosques’?
Such actions clearly violate the principles of Islamic governance and the rulings of the rightly-guided caliphs and classical scholars.
This is what I understand. And Allah knows best what is correct.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
