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Do nations take on the ruling of usurped land, such that prayer is not permissible therein?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If disbelievers occupy Muslim lands, it is permissible to pray in public places because they are owned by all Muslims, and the occupation by disbelievers does not change their ownership. This is unlike usurped land, where prayer is prohibited because the worshipper would be using another's property without permission. As for land owned by a specific Muslim, it is usually not known who that individual is, and the default is that prayer is valid, based on the general Hadith: "The earth has been made for me a place of prostration and a means of purification." However, if it is known that a specific place has been usurped from a particular Muslim, then there is a difference of opinion among jurists regarding usurped land, and prayer is prohibited therein, and this prohibition is even more emphatic if a disbeliever usurped it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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