Fatwa ID: 07997
Answered by: Maulana Sheik Abdel Ahaad Imrit
Question:
Assalamu alaykum ww, What is the ruling on the following:
- having a membership structure in place for the Masajid?
- discrimination between members/non- members in terms of discounted fees and other benefits?
- restricting membership to specific ethnicities (practised here in the North England where some Mosques will restrict membership to Gujaratis for examples) ?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Wa ʿalaykumu s-salam waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
Membership itself usually facilitates the management and contributions of the musallis (congregants) and is not inherently problematic.
However, there should be no form of discrimination when assigning roles or responsibilities. Positions should be granted based on an individual’s ability to fulfill the task and their level of piety, not on lineage or ethnicity. This principle is taught in the narrations of the blessed Prophet (peace be upon him): Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah, Most High, has removed from you the pride of the pre-Islamic period and its boasting in ancestors. One is only a pious believer or a miserable sinner. You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust. Let the people cease boasting about their ancestors. They are merely fuel in Jahannam, or they will certainly be of less account with Allah than the beetle which rolls dung with its nose.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5116, Vol. 4, Pg. 331, Al-Maktabah Al-‘Asriyyah Beirut)
Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “What do you reckon to be nobility? Allah has made nobility clear: the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the greatest taqwa. What do you reckon as lineage? The best of you in lineage is the best of you in character.” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Hadith 899, Pg. 309, Darul Bashaair Al-Islaamiyyah) He also said: “I do not know anyone who acts upon this ayah: ‘Mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in Allah’s sight is the one with the most taqwa.’ (Qur’an 49:13). One man says to another, ‘I am more noble than you are.’ No one is nobler than another person except by taqwa.” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Hadith 898, Pg. 309, Darul Bashaair Al-Islaamiyyah) These teachings remind us that true honor and distinction come from piety and good character, not from ancestry or social status.
«سنن أبي داود» (4/ 331 ت محيي الدين عبد الحميد):
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، «إِنَّ اللَّهَ عز وجل قَدْ أَذْهَبَ عَنْكُمْ عُبِّيَّةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، وَفَخْرَهَا بِالْآبَاءِ مُؤْمِنٌ تَقِيٌّ، وَفَاجِرٌ شَقِيٌّ، أَنْتُمْ بَنُو آدَمَ وَآدَمُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ، لَيَدَعَنَّ رِجَالٌ فَخْرَهُمْ بِأَقْوَامٍ، إِنَّمَا هُمْ فَحْمٌ مِنْ فَحْمِ جَهَنَّمَ، أَوْ لَيَكُونُنَّ أَهْوَنَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنَ الْجِعْلَانِ الَّتِي تَدْفَعُ بِأَنْفِهَا النَّتِنَ»
«الأدب المفرد – ت عبد الباقي» (ص309):
«حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ بُرْقَانَ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ قَالَ: قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: مَا تَعُدُّونَ الْكَرَمَ؟ وَقَدْ بَيَّنَ اللَّهُ الْكَرَمَ، فَأَكْرَمُكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ، مَا تَعُدُّونَ الْحَسَبَ؟ أَفْضَلُكُمْ حَسَبًا أَحْسَنُكُمْ خُلُقًا»
«الأدب المفرد – ت عبد الباقي» (ص309):
«عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ: لَا أَرَى أَحَدًا يَعْمَلُ بِهَذِهِ الْآيَةِ: {يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى} [الحجرات: 13] حَتَّى بَلَغَ: {إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ} [الحجرات: 13] ، فَيَقُولُ الرَّجُلُ لِلرَّجُلِ: أَنَا أَكْرَمُ مِنْكَ، فَلَيْسَ أَحَدٌ أَكْرَمَ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ»
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Mawlana Sheik Abdel Ahaad Imrit
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
