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Is it permissible for a Muslim to rent a property from a non-Muslim, given the presence of religious images and statues belonging to the owner inside the building, especially when no alternative properties owned by Muslims are available?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to rent property from a non-Muslim, as are other permissible transactions like buying, selling, and mortgaging. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions interacted with Jews, and he died with his shield mortgaged to a Jew. The presence of forbidden images in a private section belonging to the owner does not matter if the rented hall itself is free of them. Muslims should own their own places for holding events, with segregation between men and women, and their proximity to a mosque. Dealing with disbelievers in buying and selling is permissible, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, bought from a pagan. What is forbidden is befriending them, loving them, and supporting them against Muslims. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ate from the food of the Jews, and the food of the People of the Book is lawful for Muslims.

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

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