Building a New Mosque Out of Necessity

Question

Question: The village of Waras (?) is an area of Ladakh. In this area the population is spread out over great distances; being a border and mountainous region, it is difficult to find a densely populated village. It is in view of these very circumstances that the pious elders of the religion declared the Friday prayer permissible here, and so a Jamiʿ (congregational) mosque was built. But now the mosque has come under the control of the army and is in the possession of the military.

Answer

When a mosque is built in accordance with the Sharia, it becomes a mosque for ever: no one’s possession of it as owner is valid, no one has the right to prevent anyone from praying, and demolishing it is not permissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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