Building a Madrasa on the Site of a Very Old Graveyard, and Shops for Its Upkeep

Question

Question: In the middle of a village there is a graveyard. It was in use a hundred and fifty years ago; from then, after a hundred and fifty years until now, burying the dead in it has been abandoned. Now on this site all these evil things are going on: pigs and dead animals, fornication, and people going there to relieve themselves.

Answer

Since that graveyard has been disused for a hundred and fifty years, the dead are not buried there and it is being misused, it is permissible in the Shari‘a to build a religious madrasa there by mutual consultation. On the land that is left over, shops should be built and made a waqf for the madrasa, so that the expenses of the madrasa may be met with ease.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.