Answered by Shaykh Abu Usamah
Is one of the conditions of a masjid that it is ‘unchangeable’? If so, what does this actually mean?
For instance, if a place was bought for the purpose of salah (i.e. as a masjid), and people used it for a long period of time (say, 5 years), and then it was decided that because of the need of increased capacity or some other reason, that that building would be sold to someone else (a non-Muslim perhaps), and people would stop praying there, and move to another, separate site; was the original building ever considered a mosque?
Also, with regards to ‘unchangeability’, does ownership matter? For example, university prayer halls are often used for the five prayers AS WELL AS Jumma salah. The university still owns the prayer hall, and there is no legal impediment (as far as I know), to the university taking retaking control of the prayer hall, and relocating Muslims to pray at another site. In this case, should we treat the prayer hall as a mosque (i.e. perform jumma there), unless the university ACTUALLY does relocate the Muslims elsewhere?
Al-Salam alaykum
Yes it is a condition of a masjid that it be ‘unchangeable’. However we first need to understand what a ‘masjid’ really is.
Technically a masjid is a place that has been declared waqf by its owners meaning that for the sake of Allah it is dedicated for offering salah there by the owner(s) themselves who have now agreed to give up their ownership of the place.
If a a place was bought for the purpose of salah but was not declared waqf then it is not a masjid but a place of worship (`ibadah khanah or Jama`ah Khanah as it is called in South Africa OR a ‘musalla’ as it is known as in some Arab countries.)
It is not a condition for Jumu`ah salah that it be offered only in a masjid. Hence it can be offered at any place (like the prayer hall of a university) if all the other conditions of Jumu`ah are fulfilled.
Abu Usamah