Turning a Royal Mosque into a Place of Recreation

Question

In the city of Burhanpur there is a mosque built in the royal (Mughal) era, unique in its architecture, but regrettably this mosque has become a place of recreation: Hindus and Muslims, men and women, keep wandering about the mosque at all hours, proper and improper, and the muezzin takes them around the mosque and collects a fee for guiding them. What is the ruling of the Shari‘a on turning the mosque into a place of recreation and men and women entering it freely?

Answer

This state of affairs is severely contrary to the purpose of the mosque and respect for it: [ar]فإن المساجد لم تبن لهذا[/ar] “For the mosques were not built for this” (Mishkat al-Masabih, p. 68).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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