Is It Permissible to Eat the Fruits From a Tree Planted in a Mosque?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Jamir Meah
Question: Assalamu alaykum
In my mosque there is a mango tree. Do I have to get the permission to pick mangoes from the mango tree in the mosque?
Answer: Wa’alaykum assalam. Jazakum Allah khayr for your question. May Allah reward you for desiring to find out the correct rulings before acting.
The permissibility or prohibition on eating fruit from trees within a mosque returns to the reason why the fruit tree was planted in the mosque.
When it is prohibited to eat from trees within a mosque
If the tree was planted specifically for the mosque, then it is not permitted to eat its fruits. Rather, the fruits are sold and the profits return to the mosque funds. Similarly, if the tree was made as a part of an endowment to a specific people (waqf), such as the mosque Imam and his family, then it is also not permissible from anyone else to eat from the tree. The only way to know this is by asking the mosque committee.
In these scenarios, if one ate from the tree without permission, one would have to reimburse the mosque for the fruit eaten.
When it is permissible to eat from trees within a mosque
If the tree was neither of the above, such as the tree was planted as an unconditioned act of charity for anyone to take from, then it would be permissible to eat of its fruits. Again, the way to know this is by asking the mosque committee.
If one does not know if the tree was planted for the mosque, as an endowment, or for general benefit, then one is also permitted to eat from it. However, it would be highly recommended to do one’s best to find out the status of the tree before eating from it. And Allah knows best.
[‘Iyanat al Talibin, Tuhfa al Muhtaj]
Warmest salams,
[Shaykh] Jamir Meah
Shaykh Jamir Meah grew up in Hampstead, London. In 2007, he traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he spent nine years studying the Islamic sciences on a one-to-one basis under the foremost scholars of the Ribaat, Tarim, with a main specialization and focus on Shafi’i fiqh. In early 2016, he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continues advanced studies in a range of Islamic sciences, as well as teaching. Jamir is a qualified homeopath.
