How to Preserve an Abandoned Mosque

Question

In the city of Jalandhar there was a mosque which has been completely demolished. On one side of this demolished mosque there are shops owned by the mosque. Suppose the site of the demolished mosque, its courtyard, is incorporated into the existing shops, and a new mosque is built on the roof of these shops, so that Muslims can pray and the mosque’s site is preserved — otherwise there is a risk of the site being usurped; at present filth is accumulating on the mosque’s site. The tenant of the shops (a non-Muslim)

Answer

A place which has once been made waqf and turned into a mosque for prayer becomes a mosque forever; putting it to any other use is by no means permissible. Under this general rule, it is necessary to preserve this place and, as far as possible, to keep it inhabited with prayer.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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