Is it permissible to prevent someone from building a new mosque, only 200 meters away from an old, existing mosque, on the grounds that the new mosque might cause the old mosque to be abandoned?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The gathering of worshippers in a single mosque is better and brings greater reward. Therefore, if building a new mosque would diminish the congregation of the old mosque or completely incapacitate it, then it is better not to build it and instead to renovate the old one. Anyone wishing to build a mosque is advised, in order to attract the largest number of worshippers, to seek out a place whose inhabitants do not have a mosque or who are in need of expansion, and to spend their money there. Building a mosque near another mosque is not prohibited, as long as it is not intended to cause harm.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/39858
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 39858
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy