Building a Madrasa on Ownerless Land

Question

We have established a madrasa on a site whose land was known as the land of the keeper of a dervish lodge; then an imambara (a Shi‘i hall for mourning gatherings) was built there, and it became known by that name. There were eight or ten graves on this land. When the graves were levelled, people began to live there. Traces of the imambara’s construction remain to this day. We have established a madrasa of religious education on it and have also built some walls.

Answer

It appears from your letter that the site was for graves and that for a long time no one has been buried there. When the old graves disappeared, people began to live there, and then an imambara was built there. It is as though the site were ownerless and a waqf, that is, it has no owner at all; whoever wishes simply takes possession of it.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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