In some Musjids a section of the shoe racks has been fitted with doors which can lock. The doors and the locks have been fitted on some shelves to prevent the theft of shoes. Any musalli who wishes to put his shoes in the lock-up rack has to pay a rental for the shoe-box. He keeps the key with him for the period that he has paid rent. If he has paid the rent, for say six months, then he only is entitled to place his shoes in that particular shelf which he locks and keeps the key. Is this system permissible?

All the facilities of the Musjid—the shoe racks, the water, the taps, the toilets, the towels and whatever else there may be—are for the free use of all the musallis. No one has a preferential right to use any of these facilities, not even the contributors/donors.

It is not permissible for any musalli to secure for himself exclusive use of any specific facility of the Musjid in lieu of a payment. Whoever comes first, has the prior right to the Waqf facility. Just as payment of a fee/rental cannot secure for one the exclusive right to sit in a
particular spot in the Musjid or use a particular towel or a particular tap, or use a particular copy of the Qur'aan, etc., so too is it not permissible to pay money to reserve for oneself the exclusive right to use any particular shoe-box. All the shoe shelves/boxes are Waqf for the use of all the musallis. Giving a particular musalli the exclusive right of using a specific shoe-box infringes on the rights of the musallis who may come to the Musjid earlier than the one who has paid `rent'. Sometimes he may not even be present in the Musjid. The shoe-box will then remain unused to the inconvenience of other musallis. Irrespective of the advantages of this system, it is not permissible since it violates the rights of others and is in conflict with the rules of Waqf pertaining to the Musjid facilities.

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