Keeping Religious Books and Other Things in the Mosque

Question

I keep all my religious books and some non-religious ones, for example an almanac, in the mosque’s cupboard for safekeeping, because there is no room to keep them at home; and sometimes a change of clothes for use and something for breakfast, for example raw cane sugar, sweets, medicine, soap, oil, a comb for the head (I am the imam). Please give an answer.

Answer

Do not keep your household things — soap, raw sugar, sweets, clothes and the like — in the mosque, for this is a matter of objection. If the mosque has a chamber, a three-arched gallery, an ablution area and the like, keep them there, where one regularly sleeps at night. As for books from which the worshippers also benefit, there is no harm in keeping them in the mosque.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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