The Ruling on Charging Your Phone in the Masjid

Sheikh Sa'd Al-Khathlan hafidhahullah said: Charging your phone in the masjid involves using a small amount of electricity from the public treasury of the Muslims (Bayt al-Māl), because in our country (i.e. Saudi), the masjids are generally funded through the public treasury. In some countries, however, masjids may be funded by charitable individuals. Even in Saudi Arabia, there are a small number of masjids where the owner takes care of everything related to the masjid. But we are speaking about the general situation, which is that the electricity comes from the public treasury of the Muslims. So, is this small amount of use something that can be overlooked? When we look at the Islamic texts, we find that they allow for overlooking things that are very small and insignificant. Among these is the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “If one of you enters a garden, let him call out three times: ‘O owner of the garden!’ If he responds, then fine; otherwise, he may eat. And if he comes across livestock, let him call out three times: ‘O shepherd of the camels!’ If he responds, then fine; otherwise, he may drink.” This hadith is found in the books of Sunan and has several supporting narrations and chains. When all of them are considered together, the hadith is established as authentic. The Hanbali jurists adopted this hadith as evidence. According to their position, if someone comes across a garden that is not enclosed by a wall, he may eat some of its fruit. It is recommended for him to call out, “O owner of the garden!” If the owner comes, then fine; otherwise, he may eat from it. However, he may not take any of the fruit away with him—he may only eat from it there. Likewise, if he comes across livestock, he may call out, “O shepherd of the camels!” and he may milk the animal without any sin upon him. The Hanbalis took the apparent meaning of this hadith. The majority of scholars, however, did not permit this. They based their position on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “No one should milk another person's livestock without his permission.” However, since the hadith mentioning the owner of the garden is authentic, it can be understood as referring specifically to someone who comes across a garden that is not enclosed and wants to eat from it, or livestock that has no shepherd and wants to drink its milk without taking anything away with him. As for the hadith, “No one should milk another person's livestock,” it applies to situations other than this. Therefore, the hadith about calling out to the owner of the garden is specific and qualifies the general wording of the hadith prohibiting a person from milking someone else's livestock. The other schools—the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi‘is—held that this is not permissible, whereas the Hanbalis held that it is permissible. The stronger position is that of the Hanbalis in this matter because, as we mentioned, the hadith is authentic. Once a hadith is established as authentic, we act upon all the relevant hadiths rather than acting upon one and abandoning others. Imam Ash-Shafi‘i rahimahullah said that if the hadith about the owner of the garden were authentic, he would act upon it. However, he questioned its authenticity. But the hadith has several supporting narrations and chains, and it appears that when all of them are considered together, it is authentic. The point relevant to our discussion is this: if a person is permitted to drink from someone else's livestock without their permission after calling out to the owner, then what about charging a phone using electricity that comes from the Muslims' public treasury, to which a person already has a right? It is even more appropriate that this should be permissible. Furthermore, when it comes to lost property, something insignificant that people generally do not pay much attention to may be taken. Examples include a whip, a stick, or small amounts of money—one riyal, two riyals, or perhaps five riyals. If you find such an amount on the road, you may take it. If this is permissible even with privately owned property, because the amount is so small and insignificant, then what about something that comes from the public treasury of the Muslims, in which a person already has a right? It is even more deserving of being permissible. Based on this, and Allah knows best, it appears that charging your phone in the masjid is permissible and there is no harm in doing so. Furthermore, the facilities of the masjid are provided to serve the worshippers. The electricity is used to provide lighting for the worshippers; the water and air conditioning are also provided for their benefit. Charging a mobile phone—particularly for those who are in i‘tikāf—can likewise be considered part of serving the worshippers, and there is no harm in it. Also, this is something that is commonly accepted in people's customs. If you went to any person—even someone who was poor—and said, “Can I charge my phone here?” would they refuse? They generally would not. Even if the person were poor, a worker, or anyone else, if you asked them to charge your phone, they would normally not object, because this is among the small matters that people customarily overlook and allow. Therefore, the apparent conclusion is that there is no harm in charging your phone in the masjid. Source: https://t.me/madrasatunaa/595