Response ⤵️

﷽ We would like to clarify our position regarding the donation facility at the masjid, particularly because we may have previously expressed reservations about donation boxes in masaajid. We have followed the position of a number of scholars, including Shaykh Rabīʿ ibn Hādī rahimahullah and several of our Yemeni mashāyikh, regarding donation boxes and methods of fundraising that resemble some of the practices of the hizbiyyūn. The underlying concern is one that we still understand and respect: the masjid should not become a place where people are continually solicited for money, pressured to donate, or where fundraising becomes a prominent feature of masjid activity. However, through experience, consideration of the practical circumstances we have actually faced, and discussions with different mashāyikh, we have come to appreciate that the issue is more nuanced than simply saying that every form of facilitating donations is the same. There is a difference between actively soliciting donations and pressuring people to give, and simply providing a convenient means for those who wish to voluntarily contribute to the genuine needs of the masjid. That distinction is particularly relevant to our situation. After the immense bounty and favour of Allah, this masjid operates through the cooperation and generosity of the community. There is no external body covering our rent, utilities, maintenance and other ongoing expenses. These costs have to be met somehow. In fact, if we already had a sufficient and reliable source of income that covered the masjid's expenses, we would not even be having this discussion. Over time, members of the community repeatedly asked us to provide a simple and convenient way for those who wanted to support the masjid to contribute. In response to that genuine need, we have introduced a card machine at the entrance of the masjid. It is simply a means of payment. We are not walking around the rows of worshippers asking them for money. We are not stopping people and soliciting donations. We are not putting anyone under pressure or making people feel that they are expected to contribute. Whoever wishes to donate can do so, and whoever does not wish to donate can simply walk past. This is an important distinction, and it is supported by statements from a number of the scholars. Shaykh Ibn Bāz rahimahullah, when asked about a donation box for the needs of the masjid, distinguished between going around the rows and asking people for donations—which he regarded as something better avoided because it could embarrass people—and simply making a means available for whoever wishes to contribute. Similarly, Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Al-Fawzān hafidhahullah was asked specifically about placing donation boxes in masaajid in order to cover the expenses of the masjid. He responded: “The door of donations is wide. If there is a need for donations to the masjid for renovations of the masjid, or building a masjid, or those things which will benefit the masjid, and there are not enough funds to cover the expenses except by way of donations, then there is nothing wrong with this. And this is from cooperating upon piety and righteousness.” [Source: http://saif30.af.org.sa/node/101] Likewise, Shaykh Zayd Al-Madkhalī rahimahullah was asked about placing a donation box near the entrance of the masjid. He permitted this subject to conditions, including that the people responsible are upon the methodology of Ahlus-Sunnah, that the purpose of collecting the donations is known and legitimate, and that the money is not exploited for personal interests or harmful causes. These statements have helped us understand that the underlying issue cannot simply be reduced to the physical presence of a box or payment facility. Rather, we have to consider the purpose, the method, the circumstances, and what is actually taking place. ____ Revising a position after gaining knowledge and experience There is another point we feel is important to clarify. Changing one's position after reconsideration is not inherently blameworthy, nor does it automatically constitute a contradiction. The scholars themselves have differed from their earlier positions after further consideration, and this is well known in the history of Islamic jurisprudence. Imām Ash-Shāfiʿī rahimahullah, for example, had what became known as his earlier school (al-madhhab al-qadīm) and his later school (al-madhhab al-jadīd). After moving to Egypt, he revised a number of his earlier positions in light of further consideration and knowledge. The point is not that every change of opinion is therefore correct. Rather, the point is that reconsidering a position when circumstances change or when further knowledge and understanding becomes available is not, in itself, a contradiction or a deficiency. Ibn Al-Qayyim rahimahullah stated: «فَإِنَّ الْفَتْوَى تَتَغَيَّرُ بِتَغَيُّرِ الزَّمَانِ وَالْمَكَانِ وَالْعَوَائِدِ وَالْأَحْوَالِ» “Indeed, a fatwa changes with changes in time, place, customs and circumstances.” To be clear, we are not claiming that every position we have previously held was necessarily correct, nor are we claiming that simply changing one's view makes the new position correct. Rather, we are saying that a person can initially adopt a position based upon what they understood, gain further knowledge, encounter circumstances that they had not previously experienced, consult people of knowledge, reconsider the matter, and then arrive at a different conclusion. We have no problem acknowledging our mistakes openly. In fact, we believe that being willing to acknowledge a mistake and reconsider one's position when the evidence or circumstances become clearer is part of sincerity in seeking the truth. That is what we believe has happened here. Our original concern was to avoid the type of fundraising and solicitation that the scholars warned against, particularly the practices associated with hizbiyyah and fundraising organisations. We still maintain that concern. But having now experienced the practical realities of running a masjid, having seen the genuine needs that have to be met, having repeatedly been asked by members of the community for a convenient method of contributing, and having sat with and considered the statements of different mashāyikh, we no longer view a simple payment facility made available at the entrance in the same way as actively soliciting donations from the worshippers. Our intention is not to turn the masjid into a fundraising organisation. We are not collecting money to support hizbī groups, personalities or organisations, nor are donations being used as a means of establishing allegiance and disavowal around a particular group. The masjid is a place of worship, Qur'an and Sunnah, knowledge, daʿwah and service to the community. Donations are simply one means by which the community cooperates in maintaining that work. Ultimately, we rely upon Allah alone. After Allah's bounty, whatever this masjid is able to maintain is through the cooperation, generosity and support of the community. The community has supported this masjid with their wealth, their time, their skills and their efforts, and this is from the cooperation upon righteousness that Allah has legislated. If Allah were to provide the masjid tomorrow with a sufficient and reliable source of income that covered all of its expenses, there would be no need for us to facilitate donations at all. Until then, we use the permissible means available to us to enable those who genuinely wish to support the masjid to do so—without pressure, embarrassment or turning the masjid into a place of constant fundraising. So this should not be understood as abandoning the principles we previously held. Rather, it is a refinement of our understanding of how those principles apply in a particular circumstance, after gaining further experience, considering the statements of the scholars and dealing with the practical realities of running a masjid. Whatever is correct in this, then it is from Allah, and whatever is incorrect is from our own shortcomings.