Is It Permissible to Establish a Mosque in a Rented Place? | Jurisprudential and Sharʿi Guidance
This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Muhammad Munir Qamar’s book Ahkām al-Masājid.
Using Rented Property as a Mosque
With the frequent relocation of companies, the issue of temporary mosques, budgets, and surplus items from such places often arises. In this regard, one can benefit from the detailed discussions of the jurists.
This applies to cases where a piece of land is used temporarily as a mosque with the permission of the owner.
According to all Imams except Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله), it is also permissible to rent a property and use it as a mosque for prayer.
Al-ʿAllāmah al-Zarkashī (رحمه الله) supported this view, writing:
Benefiting from and utilizing a rented place is a legitimate and intended matter. Just as a house can be rented for sleeping or for storing one’s belongings, then in a place where there is no mosque, or where constructing one is not permitted or financially possible, why should a house not be rented for the purpose of prayer?
(Iʿlām al-Masājid, p. 400)
Scholarly Contributions
The muḥaddithīn, fuqahāʾ, and reformist scholars have discussed mosque etiquettes and rulings in great detail. Some even authored independent works on the subject, such as:
- Iʿlām al-Masājid by al-ʿAllāmah Badr al-Dīn al-Zarkashī (رحمه الله)
- Iṣlāḥ al-Masājid by al-ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Jamāl al-Dīn al-Qāsimī (رحمه الله)
These works mention hundreds of rulings, etiquettes, and issues related to the Sacred Mosques — Masjid al-Ḥarām (Makkah), Masjid al-Nabawī (Madinah), Masjid al-Aqṣā (Jerusalem) — as well as general mosques.
Conclusion
Remaining within the scope of our discussion, we have presented the necessary rulings and issues by Allah’s grace.
May Allah grant us sincerity, accept our humble efforts, bless us with further guidance, and make these rulings a means of rectification and salvation for us all. Āmīn, thumma Āmīn.
