Using Stolen Cement in a Mosque

Question

Contractors doing government work sell cement stolen from the government. May it be used in the washrooms of the mosque, the drain and the like, or in the mosque’s own building, or not? The way it happens is that government engineers approve a bill stating that, for example, two hundred bags of cement will be used in this building, and they approve the contractor’s licence on that basis. But the contractors, having completed the work, save cement and sell that cement by stealing it from the government.

Answer

If it is established through investigation that this cement is stolen, then buying it and using it in the mosque building or its washroom and the like is not permissible. The thief does not even acquire ownership of it, so buying from him is itself out of place. In the house of Allah Most High pure wealth should be used — He accepts only what is pure — and impure (unlawful)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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