Islamic Government Taking Someone's Land for a Mosque

14-8-2002 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can an Islamic government forcibly take possession of a plot from a person without any compensation to relocate a mosque?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

It is not permitted for a government to take the property of a person against his own will even if it is very small.

There are many texts in the Sharee'ah that establish this fact. Among them is the saying of Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ): “Taking someone's property against his free will is forbidden.” [Al-Bayhaqi and Ahmad]

Sometimes the public interest needs to take someone's property such as to build a road, or a mosque, or the like on one's land; in this case, it is compulsory to give appropriate compensation to the owner to please him. If one refuses to give his property for the public interest, then he could be forced to do so to fulfill the public interest.

Allah knows best.

www.islamweb.net