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Is it permissible, Islamically, to demolish a mosque built on the roof of a house in order to replace it with shops, after the homeowner donated an adjacent plot of land for the construction of a larger mosque and a school, and stipulated the demolition of the first mosque?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Whoever builds a mosque and calls the Adhan for prayer in it, the mosque exits his ownership and becomes an endowment for Allah Almighty. He is not permitted to retract this, according to the majority of scholars, nor is he allowed to demolish it, sell it, or move it, except for a benefit, such as if it is abandoned or its capacity becomes too small. Some scholars have permitted the exchange of a mosque for a benefit, such as if the new location is more complete, or to move to a larger place if the first mosque becomes too small for its worshippers. If the first mosque is spacious and suitable, it is not permissible to remove it from the endowment or to build another mosque close to it, as this would divide the Muslim community. If the owner of the mosque donates an adjacent plot of land, he would be doing a good deed, but he is not allowed to stipulate that shops be built for him. However, he may sell his land to the people of the area.

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

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