The ruling on one who took a madrasa’s papers, seals and receipt books and collected donations with them

Question

The administrator and president of Madrasa Islamiyya Hanafiyya, Sa‘adatganj, Barabanki, carried out his duties well for some time. Then he formed a “Hanafiyya party”, and one day, seizing the opportunity, he took away all the necessary belongings of the said madrasa — papers, money, receipt books, seals and so on — and left, and after that no reconciliation with the workers could be reached in any way. The questions are these: (1) Is it necessary to return the money of the said madrasa or not? (2)

Answer

(1) It is not permissible to spend the madrasa’s money on personal expenses; returning it is necessary. (2) Returning all of this is also necessary. (3) That money too belongs to the madrasa. (4) Collecting donations in the name of the former madrasa with its receipt books and spending them on a madrasa set up for oneself is not permissible while the former madrasa exists.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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