Taking part of the land endowed for a Masjid to carry out other charity projects

Fatwa no. 19583 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there shall be no prophet.The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’ reviewed (Part No. 16; Page No. 73) the question submitted to His Eminence the President by the head of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah, and Guidance branch in Riyadh, which was forwarded to the committee from the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, no. 784 on 25/3/1418 A.H. The following is the text of the question:“The people living in Al-`Aqiq district, in north Riyadh, asked the Riyadh Municipality to give them some land on which to build a Masjid (mosque) with houses for the Imam (the one who leads congregational Prayer) and the Mu’adhin (caller to Prayer), from the public land shown on the attached map. The Municipality agreed to give them 4,250 meters and a benefactor offered to build the Masjid and the houses for the Imam and Mu’adhin. As the land given for the Masjid was very large, the benefactor asked to be given 1,500 square meters in return for building the Masjid and houses. He wants to use this piece of land to provide Iftar (fast-breaking meal) for those observing Sawm (fasting), teach the memorization of the Qur’an, and to maintain the Masjid. We would therefore like Your Eminence to advise us about this and may Allah give you long life and reward you generously.”

After studying the matter, the committee replied as follows: (Part No. 16; Page No. 74) It is obligatory that the whole area should be dedicated for building the Masjid and its accompanying annex. It is not permissible to take a part of this area to be used for any other purpose, as it has been designated for the Masjid and its accompanying buildings and thus belongs to it. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.