one out of ten, it may not be sold. But according to what was stated earlier, it may be sold if there is a need or a benefit in doing so.

If it is sold, what should be done with its price? He said, “Its price is to be spent on something equivalent to it.” Thus, if this is an endowment for the poor, its benefits cease, and we sell it, what should we do with the proceeds? Should we distribute them in charity to the poor, or should we purchase an endowment with them for the poor? The latter is obligatory. It is not permissible to say, “This was an endowment for the poor, and now that we have sold it because its benefits ceased, we will distribute its money among the poor.” This is not permissible, because this money is compensation for the corpus of the endowment, and ownership of the endowment corpus cannot be transferred, whether through sale or otherwise.

His statement, “even if it is a mosque,” means: even if the property whose benefits have ceased is a mosque—for example, a mosque in a neighborhood whose residents have moved away—it may be sold, and its price spent on something equivalent to it.

Once we sell the mosque and spend its price on another mosque, the purchaser may sell the former mosque, since it has become his property. He may also turn it into shops for commercial use. The point is that it has ceased to have the status of a mosque; therefore, it may be sold, given in charity, gifted, and so on, while its price is spent on something equivalent to it.

His statement, “even if it is a mosque,” indicates that there is a difference of opinion. Some scholars hold that a mosque may not be sold, because it is an endowment for the common benefit of the Muslims, and what serves the common benefit of the Muslims is not subject to the discretion of an individual. But this is not correct, because the mosque can no longer be used: the entire neighborhood has moved away and no one remains. Thus, it may be sold, and another mosque built elsewhere with its price.