Source: “Ahkam wa Masail in the Light of the Qur’an and Hadith”, Volume 02
Referencing various classical sources, including Fatawa Thanaiyyah, Mishkat, Bulugh al-Maram, and verdicts by scholars such as Imam Ahmad, Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi, and others.
As-Salāmu ʿAlaikum wa Rahmatullāhi wa Barakātuh
What is the Shar‘i ruling regarding constructing a mosque with wealth donated by a disbeliever or earned by a fornicating woman (baghiyah) such as a prostitute?
A publication from Karachi has claimed:
“It is permissible; there is no Shar‘i prohibition. Just as it is permissible to drink water from a well dug by a disbeliever or a prostitute, it is likewise permissible to pray in a mosque built by them. However, the reward of this act will be nullified in the Hereafter due to disbelief and immorality.”
Is this statement valid according to Islamic law?
This fatwa is completely incorrect and contrary to the Shari‘ah.
The wealth of a prostitute (baghiyah) earned through immorality is explicitly forbidden (ḥarām) in authentic Hadith. The Prophet ﷺ said:
«مَهْرُ الْبَغِيِّ خَبِيثٌ»
“The earnings of a prostitute are impure.”
— (Ṣaḥīḥ Hadith)
A mosque is the house of Allah. It is a pure and sacred place. Even a person in the state of major impurity (janābah) or a menstruating woman is not permitted to enter it. Then how can the mosque itself be constructed using impure and unlawful wealth?
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«من اكتسب مالًا من إثم، فوصل به رحمه أو تصدق به أو أنفقه في سبيل الله، جمع ذلك كلّه جميعًا فقُذِفَ به في النار»
“He who acquires wealth through sin, then spends it on maintaining ties of kinship, gives it in charity, or spends it in the way of Allah—he and his wealth will be thrown together into the Hellfire.”
— (Targhib wa Tarhib)
This Hadith proves that even charity or construction in Allah’s path using haram wealth leads to punishment, not reward. Thus, a mosque built with such funds is not a true mosque, and is in fact impure and subject to condemnation.
The Tafsīr al-Madārik states:
“كل مسجد بُني مباهَاةً أو رياءً أو سمعةً، أو لغرض سوى ابتغاء وجه الله، أو بمال غير طيب، فهو لاحق بمسجد الضرار.”
“Any mosque built out of pride, showing off, reputation, or for any purpose other than seeking Allah’s pleasure—or built with impure wealth—is akin to the Masjid Dhirar (the mosque of hypocrisy).”
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
«إن الله طيّب لا يقبل إلا طيّبًا»
“Verily, Allah is pure and only accepts that which is pure.”
— (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
✦ Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه):
“Whoever buys a garment worth ten dirhams, and even one dirham is from unlawful wealth, Allah will not accept his prayer while he wears it.”
✦ In Bulūgh al-Marām, the Hadith says:
“If someone wears a shirt purchased with unlawful wealth, his prayer will not be accepted until he removes it.”
✦ Mirqāt Sharḥ Mishkāt states:
“The mahr (earnings) of a prostitute is unanimously considered haram because it is in exchange for illicit sexual acts. Anything earned as a means to sin is haram.”
✦ Shaykh Abdul Haq Dehlawi writes in his Sharḥ Mishkāt:
“Such earnings are absolutely haram.”
✦ In Muwatta’, it is stated:
“Whoever gives charity from pure (halal) wealth, it is as if he placed it into the hand of Allah.”
But the impure wealth of a prostitute will never be accepted by Allah.
Mawlana ‘Abdul Jabbār Ghaznawi issued a fatwa regarding a mosque built with money from a prostitute who used a deceptive method: she borrowed money to build a mosque and then repaid the debt using her haram earnings.
His fatwa stated:
Mawlana Shah ‘Abdul Aziz Dehlawi and Maulana Abdul Hayy Lakhnawi clarified:
If a loan was taken without intent to utilize haram wealth and later repaid unintentionally using haram funds, the ruling differs. But if haram wealth is deliberately used through a loophole, the mosque is invalid.
In Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, a similar fatwa is cited:
“Prayer in a mosque built by a prostitute is not valid because it was built with impure and haram wealth.”
Also quoting Ibn Taymiyyah, they mention:
“Prayer is invalid in clothing or a structure acquired through usurpation (ghasb).”
Even if such a mosque is bought with halal wealth later, its impurity remains, as the Qur’an says:
﴿وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ﴾
“And do not exchange the impure for the pure.”
— (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:267)
A mosque built from the haram earnings of a prostitute or a disbeliever using unlawful wealth:
والله تعالى أعلم بالصواب
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best what is correct.
Written by: Mawlānā ‘Abdul Qādir Ḥiṣārwī
Published in: Al-I‘tiṣām, Lahore, Volume 15, Issue 7
Referencing various classical sources, including Fatawa Thanaiyyah, Mishkat, Bulugh al-Maram, and verdicts by scholars such as Imam Ahmad, Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi, and others.❖ Question:
As-Salāmu ʿAlaikum wa Rahmatullāhi wa Barakātuh
What is the Shar‘i ruling regarding constructing a mosque with wealth donated by a disbeliever or earned by a fornicating woman (baghiyah) such as a prostitute?
A publication from Karachi has claimed:
“It is permissible; there is no Shar‘i prohibition. Just as it is permissible to drink water from a well dug by a disbeliever or a prostitute, it is likewise permissible to pray in a mosque built by them. However, the reward of this act will be nullified in the Hereafter due to disbelief and immorality.”
Is this statement valid according to Islamic law?
❖ Answer:
This fatwa is completely incorrect and contrary to the Shari‘ah.
The wealth of a prostitute (baghiyah) earned through immorality is explicitly forbidden (ḥarām) in authentic Hadith. The Prophet ﷺ said:
«مَهْرُ الْبَغِيِّ خَبِيثٌ»
“The earnings of a prostitute are impure.”
— (Ṣaḥīḥ Hadith)
A mosque is the house of Allah. It is a pure and sacred place. Even a person in the state of major impurity (janābah) or a menstruating woman is not permitted to enter it. Then how can the mosque itself be constructed using impure and unlawful wealth?
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«من اكتسب مالًا من إثم، فوصل به رحمه أو تصدق به أو أنفقه في سبيل الله، جمع ذلك كلّه جميعًا فقُذِفَ به في النار»
“He who acquires wealth through sin, then spends it on maintaining ties of kinship, gives it in charity, or spends it in the way of Allah—he and his wealth will be thrown together into the Hellfire.”
— (Targhib wa Tarhib)
This Hadith proves that even charity or construction in Allah’s path using haram wealth leads to punishment, not reward. Thus, a mosque built with such funds is not a true mosque, and is in fact impure and subject to condemnation.
The Tafsīr al-Madārik states:
“كل مسجد بُني مباهَاةً أو رياءً أو سمعةً، أو لغرض سوى ابتغاء وجه الله، أو بمال غير طيب، فهو لاحق بمسجد الضرار.”
“Any mosque built out of pride, showing off, reputation, or for any purpose other than seeking Allah’s pleasure—or built with impure wealth—is akin to the Masjid Dhirar (the mosque of hypocrisy).”
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
«إن الله طيّب لا يقبل إلا طيّبًا»
“Verily, Allah is pure and only accepts that which is pure.”
— (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
❖ Classical Scholarly Opinions:
✦ Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه):
“Whoever buys a garment worth ten dirhams, and even one dirham is from unlawful wealth, Allah will not accept his prayer while he wears it.”
✦ In Bulūgh al-Marām, the Hadith says:
“If someone wears a shirt purchased with unlawful wealth, his prayer will not be accepted until he removes it.”
✦ Mirqāt Sharḥ Mishkāt states:
“The mahr (earnings) of a prostitute is unanimously considered haram because it is in exchange for illicit sexual acts. Anything earned as a means to sin is haram.”
✦ Shaykh Abdul Haq Dehlawi writes in his Sharḥ Mishkāt:
“Such earnings are absolutely haram.”
✦ In Muwatta’, it is stated:
“Whoever gives charity from pure (halal) wealth, it is as if he placed it into the hand of Allah.”
But the impure wealth of a prostitute will never be accepted by Allah.
❖ Endorsement from Classical Scholars:
Mawlana ‘Abdul Jabbār Ghaznawi issued a fatwa regarding a mosque built with money from a prostitute who used a deceptive method: she borrowed money to build a mosque and then repaid the debt using her haram earnings.
His fatwa stated:
- This mosque does not have the ruling of a true mosque.
- Praying in it is not equivalent to praying in a mosque built from pure halal wealth.
- The reward will not be the same.
- The mosque should be demolished and rebuilt with pure wealth.
- Trickery used to turn haram into halal is a means of earning Allah’s wrath, just as it was with the People of the Sabbath, who were transformed into monkeys.
Mawlana Shah ‘Abdul Aziz Dehlawi and Maulana Abdul Hayy Lakhnawi clarified:
If a loan was taken without intent to utilize haram wealth and later repaid unintentionally using haram funds, the ruling differs. But if haram wealth is deliberately used through a loophole, the mosque is invalid.
In Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, a similar fatwa is cited:
“Prayer in a mosque built by a prostitute is not valid because it was built with impure and haram wealth.”
Also quoting Ibn Taymiyyah, they mention:
“Prayer is invalid in clothing or a structure acquired through usurpation (ghasb).”
Even if such a mosque is bought with halal wealth later, its impurity remains, as the Qur’an says:
﴿وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ﴾
“And do not exchange the impure for the pure.”
— (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:267)
❖ Conclusion:
A mosque built from the haram earnings of a prostitute or a disbeliever using unlawful wealth:
- Does not hold the ruling of a mosque.
- Prayer in it is not valid without objection.
- It must be torn down and rebuilt with halal wealth.
- The donor gains no reward, and the structure is akin to Masjid Dhirar.
- Such wealth is impure, rejected by Allah, and its usage is condemned in the strongest terms in Qur’an and Sunnah.
والله تعالى أعلم بالصواب
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best what is correct.
Written by: Mawlānā ‘Abdul Qādir Ḥiṣārwī
Published in: Al-I‘tiṣām, Lahore, Volume 15, Issue 7
