A condition for returning a trust

Question

Question: Zayd, a resident of Rae Bareli district, placed money in trust (amana) with Amr — a reliable person and a resident of Pratapgarh — to build a mosque in Pratapgarh. The land that Zayd bought for the mosque was declared impermissible for a mosque because land rent remained in force on it. Therefore Zayd, with this intention, had a mosque built in Rae Bareli district, which is still under construction.

Answer

Amr’s demand — “build the mosque in Pratapgarh itself, or spend the money on some other work in this same place, then the trust money will be returned, otherwise not” — is impermissible and is oppression (zulm). The real owner has the right to spend his money on whatever permissible work he wishes.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.