How the Trees of a Graveyard Are to Be Used

Question

There is an enclosed graveyard in the middle of which a small mosque has been built. The graveyard is very old, and on all four sides of it is the property of the English; it has a single owner, and he too has already sold the land that was his property. If the trees and the like in the graveyard are cut down and put to one’s own use, while the expenses of the mosque are met from donations, what is the ruling of the Shariʿa on this? And can these trees be used for the mosque?

Answer

If that graveyard is a waqf (as is the custom, ʿurf), then it is not permissible for anyone to cut down the trees and the like and put them to his own use; rather, it is wajib to spend them on the expenditure of the waqf. Cutting a green tree in the graveyard is impermissible; however, a dried-up tree may be cut down and spent on the expenditure of the waqf.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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