Neighbourhood Residents Taking Water from the Mosque’s Tank

Question

There is a tank in the mosque with taps fitted to it; water comes into the tank from the city through pipes. The water tax is paid by the mosque committee. People of the neighbourhood come and take water for their needs. The place for ablution is inside the mosque, and worshippers who have made ablution step on that place and enter the mosque. Children from outside take water from the tap inside the mosque, and dirty soil from outside gets brought into the mosque.

Answer

This water is not like the water of a well, which everyone has the right to take; rather, it is like water kept in a pitcher: the owner has filled the pitcher for his own need and has become the owner of that water, and no one has the right to take it without his permission.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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