BENEFIT 367: Establishing a charity organisation in cases of necessity

Question: This is an online questioner asking: We are in France, and it is well known that the law in Western countries(1) does not allow the construction of masājid unless there is a charity organisation overseeing them. In our city, there is a charity organisation that supervises a prayer hall, and the brothers in charge are Salafi—may Allāh reward them—and we do not praise anyone above Allāh. There is another group in a neighborhood six kilometers away, about a 14-minute drive, and they are also on the right path, Alhamdulillah. The question is: Can they establish another charity organisation(2) to have their own prayer hall in their neighborhood, knowing that their neighborhood is supervised by the “جماعة العدل والإحسان” group? Sheikh Suleyman Ar-Ruheyli وفقه الله responds: In any case, masājid are the houses of Allāh, and wherever a masjid is found, prayers should be held in it. A person is not allowed to abandon congregational prayer under the pretext that the imam is an innovator or follows desires, or that those who built the masjid are from the people of desires, as long as this is the only masjid available for prayer. If there is no other masjid, one must pray in it. Is it permissible for the brothers to establish a charity organisation in countries where Muslims cannot carry out religious activities except under a charity organisation? We say: Yes, and it may even be obligatory if they cannot establish their religion without a charity organisation that allows them to build a masjid or similar activities(2). This is because whatever is necessary to fulfill an obligation becomes obligatory itself. However, it is required that walā' wal barā' should not be based on these charity organisations, but rather on religion and adherence to it. Moreover, these charity organisations should not lead to Hizbiyyah. One seeks benefit from the good in them while avoiding their harms. The absolute prohibition of charity organisations is a grave mistake that scholars do not endorse. However, establishing da’wah organisation when needed—if religious activities cannot be carried out without them(3)—is permissible and may even be obligatory, as mentioned, provided that walā' wal barā' are not based on them and that they do not lead to division among Muslims(4). _ (1) Laws in Western countries differ from country to country. The UK does not have this law in place, and Masjid Muqbil, which operates independently of a charitable organisation, serves as clear evidence of this. (2) In other words, as long as masjids exist and Muslims are generally able to carry out religious activities, Salafis are not required to establish charity organisations. NOTE: If establishing a charity organisation were an absolute necessity for Muslims to carry out their activities, then the principle: "Necessity is measured according to its extent" (الضرورة تقدر بقدرها) must be applied. This means that before establishing a charity organisation, one must first consider all available options to minimise the harm as much as possible. For example: -> Is it possible to register a masjid under an existing charity organisation? -> Does every Salafi masjid require its own separate charity organisation, or could they operate under a single one? (3) If it's merely for Da'wah purposes, then this cannot be classed as a ضرورة as there are always other alternatives https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/1428 (4) Fulfilling these conditions in the case of a fully fledged charity organisation is near impossible, as reality demonstrates.