ADVICES
TO THE TRUSTEES (MUTAWALLIS) OF THE MASJIDS
It
is not permissible to assume the post of mutawalli for the
sake of honour and self-esteem. If one takes up this
responsibility with this intention, then he would have
indulged himself in such a calamity, from which it would be
impossible to attain salvation in the hereafter. To assume the
responsibility of mutawali it is imperative for one to possess
the required qualities and capabilities. If one lacks these,
it is advised that he relinquish this sacred duty and entrust
it to those more able and deserving.
A
mutawalli must comply with the following conditions:
1.
He must have the right of trusteeship. This right, in sequence
of priority, goes first to the person who made the endowment (waqf).
Second is the person appointed by the endower himself. Next is
the Muslim ruler or the appointed Muslim governor of the
district. Thereafter this right rests with the Muslim Judge (Qaadhi),
then finally with the person whom the inhabitants of the
locality choose. (Shaami, Book of Waqf - Page 384 / Vol. 5)
2.
He must be a sane Muslim.
3.
He must be well acquainted with the regulations pertaining to
endowment and trust (waqf).
4.
He must have a practical and theoretical knowledge concerning
the affairs of managing the endowment (waqf). (Durrul Mukhtaar
& Shaami) This means that he should not be so ignorant as
to be unable to differentiate between a capable and
non-capable candidate for appointment as lmaam or Muazzin. It
should not be that he fails to consult learned people and
disassociate himself from senior Ulama in related matters. He
must also not be so busy that he is unavailable to attend to
the affairs of the trust.
5.
He must be a trustworthy person, taking care not to
misappropriate a single cent.
6.
He must not involve himself in such futile engagements wherein
people destroy their wealth, like gambling and bribery.
7.
He must be an "Allah-fearing" and pious person - not
a faasiq, i.e. an open sinner who indulges in major sins such
as drinking, adultery, dealing in interest, shaving the beard,
neglecting salaah, discarding the fardh salaah with jamaat
(congregation), acquiring livelihood by unlawfw means, etc.
Thus, if any trustee is found to be involved in such actions
it will be incumbent (waajib) to dismiss him from office, even
though he may the endower himself. (Durrul Mukhtaar with
Shaami , Vol 5 - Pg. 385)
8.
He should not be one who requested for the position as a
trustee.
If
any close relative of the endower complies with the above
conditions he should be appointed as a trustee. However, if
all these qualities are not found in any individual then such
a person cannot be a mutawalli nor can he be appointed as one,
since this will constitute an act of sin.
THE
MUTAWALLI'S OBLIGATION TOWARDS THE MASJID
1.
He should safeguard the income and property of the Masjid,
meeting the necessary expenses and avoiding unnecessary
expenditure. These days funds are generally squandered on
expenses which have no importance in the shariah, but are
merely spent because unenlightened trustees deem them to be
imperative. These people should fear Allah, for on the day of
Qiyaamah they will be accountable for every cent. The
mutawallis of the masjid must take the onus upon themselves to
consult the Ulama, at the first opportunity, regarding the
detailed rulings pertaining to these expenses and the running
of the masiid in general.
2.
He must keep a proper record of all the income and expenditure
of the masjid.
3.
According to the best of means, a proper Imaam must be
appointed. If however, instead of a competent person, an unfit
and inefficient person is appointed to serve the community and
deen at large then the warning sounded in the following Hadith
should be heeded to : It is narrated that whosoever appoints
someone to a post whereas within his sphere of influence there
are more deserving persons, he has betrayed Allah, His Nabi (Sallallaahu
Álayhi Wasallam) and the Muslims in general. (Fathul Qadeer)
4.
He must appoint such a Muazzin who is well acquainted with the
times of Salaah (and the correct pronunciation of the azaan).
5.
He should give due priority to the maintenance of the masjid
building as well as it's other associated facilities. Security
should also be given due consideration.
6.
Cleanliness, lighting and water facilities must also be
adequately arranged.
7.
It is of paramount importance for the Mutawalli to ensure the
performance of the five daily salaah in congregation and
always strive towards increasing the number of musallis (in
the masjid). Each mutawalli must look sincerely into these
duties and exert his utmost efforts towards achieving these
ends.
It
is noticed that the mutawallis of the various masaajid usually
do not fully discharge their responsibilities, hence becoming
sinners. Special care must be exercised in the appointment of
an Imaam, because due to any. shortcomings in this regard,
thousands more will mushroom which can lead the Muslims to
deviation.
If
someone is an Imaam it does not entitle his son to the same.
Since Imaamat is not a legacy, the most competent and
deserving person should be appointed.
(The
following are the cardinal requirements for an Imaam)
1.
He should be well versed in relevant masaa'il Pertaining to
Imaamat and salaah).
2.
He must have mastered tajweed rules (to facilitate correct
recitation of qiraat in salaah).
3.
He should adhere to the faraaidh, waajibaat, sunnah and
mustahabaat.
4.
He must refrain from haraam and makroohaat.
If
the correct choice of an Imaam cannot be made, a reliable
Aalim should be asked to interview a potential candidate. To
use only a beautiful voice as a yard-stick in choosing an
Imaam is pure ignorance. However, if together with the above
cardinal requirements, the Imaam also possesses a beautiful
voice then this will be an added asset.
Once
the right Imaam has been appointed, due respect must be shown
to him. He must not be considered as a personal subordinate of
the mutawalli. He is the leader and should be followed. This
should always be kept in mind. Such a salary should be
stipulated for him that will enable him to lead a decent and
peaceful life. Stinginess should never be shown with regard to
this issue. If there is a need, other expenses should be
curtailed but a low and unreasonable salary should never be
given to the Imaam or Muazzin. If negligence prevails, it
should be borne in mind that man is often forced to fulfil his
basic needs by other means. The Muslim jurists (rahimahumullah)
have stated that if somebody commits himself to the service of
a community, it is waajib upon them that they meet his
expenses.
When
the Imaam stands up to reform the masses, it is incumbent upon
the mutawallis to jointly shoulder the cart and assist him to
achieve his religious goal. In the event of the ignorant
public raising objections and undue criticism against the
Imaam. It is the duty of the mutawallis to stop them. If
people disapprove of his propagation of the truth and the
musallis decrease, they should first be made to understand. If
they persist (in their disapproval) then they should be
ignored, because it is better to have a few abiding to the
sunnah and shariah rather than a deviated crowd.
If
any Imaam does anything contrary to the shariah or introduces
innovations, then he should be dismissed. The Imaam
'must have freedom of expression, he should never be
hindered by the mutawallis. Some mutawallis dislike and are
offended by the Imaam's mentioning of any vices or faults in
which they are involved, thus they prevent the Imaam from such
lectures. Such an attitude leads to severe sins. They will
also be considered amongst those subjected to the severe
warnings given in the following aayaat: "They prevent
others_from the path of Allah.'
'Who
can be more unjust than he who prevents the name of Allah been
taken in the house of Allah.'
The
mutawalli should never interfere in the Imaam's ibaadat,
lectures and religious services. According to the shariah the
mutawalli has no right of intervention. His responsibility is
to see to the proper maintenance and functioning of the masjid,
as mentioned above.
If
the mutawalli adopts and adheres to the above mentioned
advices, with a true spirit, then it is highly believed that
he will be amongst the good-named mutawallis in the hereafter
and be absolved of the great responsibilities which he
shouldered. He will be justly rewarded, Inshaa-Allah.
(
The above has been extracted from the book -
Khutbaat-e-Mouizat)
Prepared
under the auspices of: Sheikhul Hadeeth Hadbrat Moulaana
Fazlur Rahman Saheb
TRUSTEES
OF MUSJIDS
Perhaps
it is due to this sad state of affairs that we observe that
such people are appointed as trustees who possess wealth and
power, even though they do not perform a single Salaat in the
Musjid. The result of this is, that daily we find disputes and
quarrels in the Musjid which leads to court-cases and
non-Muslim judges passing judgement in matters of religion. In
reality as the Imaamat of the Musjid is handed to the Ulama,
in the same way the trusteeship of the Musjid should also be
in the control of learned and pious people, who are divinely
discharged to lead the Ummah. The Qur’aan bears testimony to
this issue in these words:
"He
only shall tend Allah's sanctuaries who believe in Allah and
the last day, and observes proper worship and pays the poor
due, and fear none but Allah.” (Surah Tawbah 18.)
It
is incumbent upon the residents of locality to remove a
dishonest Mutawalli (Trustee) from office otherwise they will
be guilty of sin. It is incumbent upon the residents of a
locality to remove a dishonest Mutawalli (Trustee) from
office, otherwise they will be guilty of sin. (Fatawa
Khairiyyah)
Hadhrat
Ibn Abbas Radhiallahu anhu narrated that Rasulullah Sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said: "He who appoints a man in charge of
the affairs of Muslims whilst in that Community there is a
Person more versed in the Quraan and Hadith has betrayed
Allah, His Messenger and the Muslim community." (Izalatul
Khifa)
"It
is not permissible to appoint a Faasiq as a Mutawalli.” (Fatawa
Ibn Taimiyyah)
"To
appoint an ignorant and a Faasiq person to a position of Trust
(e.g. Mutawalli) is to show honour to him whereas the Shariah
has prohibited the honouring of Fussaq (rebellious and
shameless sinners)." (Shami)
Rasulullah
Sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "When positions of Trust
are handed unqualified (Islamically) persons then await the to
Final Hour." (Bukhari Shareef)
DECLARING
MUSJIDS NATIONAL MONUMENTS
One
of the tragedies of the present times prevalent in many
countries especially in communist countries, and parts of
India is the law declaring Musjids national monuments and
locking them up, due to which either those Muslims are
completely neglected and deserted, or they are visited by
tourists, and the performance of prayers and recital of the
Quraan is prohibited therein, whereas Musjids are dedicated
for the worship of Allah and they cannot be used for any of
the above purposes. Stopping the devotees from praying and
reciting the Quraan is tantamount to the crime of demolishing
the Musjid.
It
is mentioned in the Quraan: "And who doeth greater wrong
then he who forbiddeth the entry to the sanctuaries of Allah,
lest his name should be mentioned therein, and striveth for
their ruin? As for such it was never meant that they should
enter them except in fear. Theirs in the world of Ignomirny
and theirs in the hereafter is an awful doom.” (Surah
Baqarah: 114)
The
commentators have interpreted "striveth for their
ruin" to mean all forms of obstruction, desertion and
neglect.
Allama
Raashid Rada Misri Rahmatullaahi alaih writes that the meaning
of the above verse is to stop or obstruct the worship,
remembrance of Allah in any form.
From
the above it is concluded that declaring Musjids national
monuments is tantamount to stopping the worship of Allah
therein, and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.It
should also be remembered that a Musjid built on proper
endowed (waqf) ground with the spirit of sincerity and piety
will always remain a Musjid, and it will always be used only
for the worship, remembrance and glorification of Allah and it
will not be used for the worship of anything besides of Allah,
as the Qur'aan says:
"These
Musjids are for Allah so do not call upon anyone besides Allah
therein" (Surah Jinn)
It
is not permissible for Muslims to withdraw and relinquish
their rights over a Musjid and allow it to be declared a
national monument and used for the purpose of tourist
attractions, or to exchange a musjid for another place because
the house of Allah cannot be sold, exchanged, locked,
demolished, or changed into any other type of building.
[
The Musjid – It’s Role and Etiquette ]
Last
modified:
July 19, 2007
Related
Reading: |
