Unlawful occupation of a mosque plot

Question

Zayd is a tenant of the endowed property of the Congregational Mosque of Dhamtari. He has unlawfully occupied a plot that the committee had let out on rent, and he has maintained this unlawful excess occupation for a period of ten years. Now the committee wants to take back from Zayd what is unlawfully occupied without rent, because from this unlawfully occupied plot the monthly income of the Congregational Mosque could increase, without exaggeration, by about a hundred rupees.

Answer

If the matter is as stated, then that tenant is a usurper (ghasib) and a wrongdoer, and he is committing a major sin. It is wajib upon him to vacate that excess portion immediately, and also to pay the rent for the entire period during which he has held it in unlawful occupation.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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