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Fatwa CenterPraying in a mosque built on a land that belongs to the government
Question
Dear Brother, Assalaam alaikum. i need some clarification regarding the land on which its lawful to offer salaah. i stay in india. near by to my office there is a place which belongs to authority(goverment) and its a public place on which salaah is offered five times with congregation. Walls has been also raised for about 3 feet to cover the area and the roof is thatched one to provide protection against rain/sun etc. i beleive the authority is not aware of the same. there are also other structures and shops built on some part of the land which again belongs to authority. i wanted to know whether its lawful to offer salaah on such a land which belongs to authority. Also please tell me under what conditions its lawful to offer salaah which belongs to some other person.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
There is no objection in building a mosque in a land if it does not belong to any person, rather it belongs to the government. Muslim Jurists clearly mentioned that building a mosque in such land is allowed even without the permission of the ruler or the government provided it does not lead to any harm such as blocking a road or narrowing it so that it become difficult for people to walk.
Ibn Qudaamah
wrote in his book Al-Mughni: "If one builds something in a wide road, in a place that does not cause harm, for the benefit of Muslims such as building a mosque for prayers, which Muslims are in need of, in a corner of a road or the like, he is not financially liable for that whether or not he took the permission of the ruler."
Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah reported from Ismaa’eel bin Ash-Shalingi who said, 'I enquired Imaam Ahmad about a wide road which the Muslims are not in need of, rather they need a mosque, is it allowed to build a mosque there? He said: "There is no harm in doing so if it does not negatively affect the road."
Ibn Taymiyyah further said: ‘Imaam Ahmad permitted building a mosque without any restriction, he did not make the permission of the ruler a condition for the constructions.’
If construction of a mosque in a land that belongs to the government and not to a certain person is allowed, then performing prayers in that mosque is also allowed since it becomes a place of prayer.
However, if a land belongs to a specific person or a group of people, then their permission is compulsory for performing prayers in their land since performing prayer without the permission of the owners of the land is not allowed. If one performs his prayer without their permission then his prayer is Islamicly valid but he commits a sin according to the preponderant opinion of Muslim scholars.
Allaah Knows best.
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