Cutting Down the Eidgah’s Trees and Using Them for a Mosque

Question

In a Muslim settlement there is a mosque and there is also an Eidgah (ground for the Eid prayer). The Eidgah has an orchard, and the mosque also has an orchard. Now all the people of the village agree to have some of the trees of the Eidgah’s orchard cut down and used for the construction and repair of the mosque. Is this permissible according to the Shari‘a or not?

Answer

The trees of an orchard that is endowed as waqf for the Eidgah should not be cut down. However, the trees that have dried up and from which there is no benefit may be cut down and used for building for the Eidgah. If there is no need for them in the Eidgah and no expectation of need in the future, then it is permitted to use them for the construction of the local mosque.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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