Cutting down trees in the mosque courtyard for the mosque’s needs

Question

A person made some land waqf for a mosque. The mutawalli (trustee of the waqf) (at a time when the mosque had no committee) planted various kinds of trees on it, and that place was included in the mosque. Now the committee members have arranged, by uprooting these trees, for prayer to be performed in the sun in winter. Is this action correct? The mutawalli does not agree to uprooting the trees, while the community wants to uproot them. Can these trees be uprooted and room made for prayer?

Answer

The courtyard of the mosque is for prayer; planting trees there is not right in the first place, unless the interests (masalih) of the mosque require it — then it is another matter: for example, if there is dampness there and it can be absorbed by the trees. This is stated explicitly in al-Durr al-Mukhtar and by Shami.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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