the palace and established a mosque near the date merchants.”

He continued: “The treasury was then broken into, and the man who had broken into it was apprehended. He wrote to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, who replied: ‘Do not cut off the man’s hand. Relocate the mosque and place the treasury on its qiblah side, for there will always be someone praying in the mosque.’ So ‘Abd Allāh relocated it and marked out this site for it.”

Sālih said: My father said:

“It is said that the treasury was broken into from the mosque of Kufa, so ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd relocated the mosque. The date merchants now occupy the site of the old mosque.”

He said: I asked my father about a man who built a mosque and then wished to move it elsewhere. He replied:

“If the man who built the mosque wishes to move it for fear of thieves, or because its site is filthy, there is no harm in moving it. It is said that the treasury was broken into while it was within the mosque, so Ibn Mas‘ūd relocated the mosque.”

Muhammad ibn ‘Alī narrated to us: Abū Yahyā narrated to us: Abū Tālib narrated to us:

Abū ‘Abd Allāh was asked whether a mosque could be relocated. He replied:

“If it is cramped and its congregation cannot hear, there is no harm in moving it to a more spacious site.”

Muhammad ibn ‘Alī narrated to us: ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ahmad narrated to us, saying:

I asked my father about a mosque that had fallen into ruin: “Do you think its land may be sold and the proceeds spent on another mosque that they have newly established?”

He replied:

“If it has no neighbours and no one keeps it in use, I see no harm in selling it and spending the proceeds on the other mosque.”

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us: Abū Dāwūd narrated to us, saying: “I heard Ahmad being asked about a mosque containing two valuable timber beams