Removing a Mosque from Non-Waqf Land and Building a Guest Room in Its Place

Question

Question: On a plot of land a mosque has stood for about half a century, but the place on which the mosque stands has not been endowed as waqf. In spite of this, the mosque is public: that is, congregational prayer is held, Jumuʿa is held, there is general permission (idhn ʿamm) and so on.

Answer

If the mosque was established there with the owner’s permission and consent, and the adhan, the five daily congregational prayers, Jumuʿa and general permission have all been taking place for half a century, then it is a mosque in the Sharʿi sense. It is not permissible to remove it from there and make a guest room or a house for keeping oxen on that site.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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