Fatwa ID: 09317
Answered by Maulana Nahid Uddin
Question:
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
Alhamdu lillah I am involved in the running of a Masjid. I have recently received a request from a person who has authored a children’s book, to hold a launch event where his book will be read to attendees inside the Masjid. The book will be on sale after the event in the entrance outside the sharii Masjid. I wish to clarify the following.
- Is it permissible to promote material inside the Masjid which a person will financially benefit from personally from sales outside the Masjid?
- Is it permissible to announce in the masjid for items for sale outside the masjid, for which proceeds go to charity, such as food items?
Your guidance on these matters would be greatly appreciated.
Jazakumullah khayra
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In Islam, the masajid have been established for the remembrance of Allah SWT and acts connected to din, as Allah Most High (ﷻ) says, ‘And indeed the mosques are only for Allah, so do not invoke anyone besides him’ (Surah Al-Jinn).[1]
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) also said, ‘When you see someone selling or buying in the Masjid, then say: ‘May Allah not profit your business’ (Tirmidhi).[2]
The jurists state that trade and what resembles it are prohibitively disliked in the masjid. Therefore, to promote a personal commercial book inside the masjid, where the clear intent is private financial gain, takes the ruling of impermissible or at least severely disliked (makrooh tahriman), because it is a means to trade and transforms the masjid into a venue of commerce rather than ibadah, reducing its sanctity.[3]
However, if the activity itself is purely educational and Islamic in nature, such as reading beneficial children’s Islamic literature for tarbiyah, without any direct sales transaction, there is scope for permissibility for the reading itself, provided decorum of the masjid is maintained, and it does not disturb salah or dhikr. The prohibition relates to trade. If the event becomes a marketing platform for personal profit, then it falls under the censure of the above hadith.
As for announcing items for sale outside the masjid, where the proceeds go to charity, the ruling differs according to intent and manner. If the announcement is with the intent of sadaqah or a benefit for the masjid or poor, it will be permitted, especially if no sale occurs inside the prayer area and it does not resemble commercial activity. The jurists mention that actions connected to communal benefit have broader allowance within the masjid so long as sanctity is preserved. Nevertheless, even charitable sales should ideally be announced outside the prayer area to avoid falling under the hadith’s warning. To conclude, personal commercial promotion inside the masjid is not permissible according to the Hanafi madhab; purely educational programming without commercial intent is permissible.
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Maulana Nahid Uddin
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
(1)
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
Surah Al-Jinn, A18
(2)
إِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ مَنْ يَبِيعُ أَوْ يَبْتَاعُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقُولُوا: لَا أَرْبَحَ اللَّهُ تِجَارَتَكَ
Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, H1321
(3)
وَإِلَى ذَلِك أَشَارَ النَّبِي صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم فِي قَوْله النَّاس غاديان فبائع نَفسه فموبقها ومشتر نَفسه فمعتقها وَأَن الصَّحَابَة رضوَان الله عَلَيْهِم أَجْمَعِينَ كَانُوا يلزمون الْمَسْجِد فَلَا يشتغلون بِالْكَسْبِ ومدحوا على ذَلِك وَكَذَلِكَ الْخُلَفَاء الراشدون وَغَيرهم من أَعْلَام الصَّحَابَة رضوَان الله عَلَيْهِم أَجْمَعِينَ لم يشتغلوا بِالْكَسْبِ وهم الْأَئِمَّة السَّادة والقدوة القادة
ص39 – كتاب الكسب بشرح السرخسي ت زكار – وبيانه من وجوه – المكتبة الشاملة