Destruction of Mosques from the Perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence

Destruction and demolition of mosques are forbidden according to the first ruling of the consensus of Shia and Sunni jurists, and the most important evidence is verse 114 of Surah al-Bagharah. But some examples are beyond the general scope of this verse; first, the demolition of mosques that are on the verge of collapse. Different schools of thought have interpreted this failure as "the violation of al-mostahdam", which indicates that this example is out of the generality of the above verse, however, Shafi'i jurists emphasize the necessity of permission and supervision of the ruler. Second, the destruction of mosques that need repair and development, however, the Shia jurists have either remained silent about this example or prohibited it. The most important reason for the prohibition is the generality of the verse. In addition, the title of "the violation of al-mostahdam" cannot justify the destruction. Still, the supporters of this practice, including the Shafi'i jurists, have considered compliance with expediency as the criterion of the ruling. Third, the title of Zerar Mosque, which Hanbali jurisprudence paid more attention to, and then the Wahhabis considered the destruction and burning of the holy shrines as permissible, and even obligatory, due to their priority over it. However, most non-Wahhabi jurists have considered it necessary to honor the graves of the prophets and the righteous. They did not consider it possible to infer the demolition and burning of Zerar Mosque from the mentioned verse, and, in turn, believed that this ruling was based on an uncertain single narration. Using the descriptive and analytical method, this article seeks to investigate the destruction of mosques from the perspective of Shia and Sunni jurisprudence. The article first examines the historical context of the issue, and then, citing the sources of Islamic jurisprudence, analyzes the basics of the prohibition of destroying mosques, and then scrutinizes the opinions of Shia, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali jurists.
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