The Property of a Person with No Heirs Given to the Mosque

Question

There was a man named Nizamuddin. He has passed away and left some belongings and money; he has no heir at all among whom it could be divided, nor did he make any bequest. Now the people of the neighbourhood wish his property to be spent on the mosque. Is such spending permissible according to the Shariʿa? And if it cannot be spent on the mosque, what will be the procedure, and on what is it to be spent?

Answer

If this man has no heir at all, whether distant or near, then in the present circumstances his estate (tarika) should be spent on a madrasa or a mosque. Thus it is in “al-Durr al-Mukhtar” (vol. 5, p. 749): [ar]ثم يوضع في بيت المال لا إرثًا بل فيئًا للمسلمين[/ar] “Then it is placed in the bayt al-mal (public treasury) — not as inheritance but as fay’ (common property)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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