Olive trees in a mosque's grounds

A question about olive trees in a mosque's grounds, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the fruit of trees planted for a mosque goes to the mosque's needs, while trees planted for the public may be eaten from by anyone entering the mosque, and that a father who donates the mosque's running costs may not take a return for his donation; the Ministry of Awqaf must be consulted. ¹

The questioner said there are olive trees in a mosque's grounds and that his father pays the mosque's electricity, water and other needs, and asked whether his father may take the olive harvest. ¹

The Department answered that fruit trees in a mosque, if planted for the mosque, may have their fruit used only for the mosque's interests; if planted for public use, any Muslim entering the mosque may eat from them; and if the planter's intention is unknown, they count as planted for public use where that is the custom. ¹ It relied on Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (6/295) that the fruit of a tree planted for the mosque is not free to take without payment, its value being spent by the imam on the mosque's interests, whereas a tree planted for public use may be eaten from freely, and the imam may uproot a tree if he sees fit. ¹ It said the father is a donor, so he may not take anything in return for his donation to the mosque, and that the Ministry of Awqaf supervises endowment affairs, so it must be consulted along with the religious and administrative instructions governing such matters. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4522, dated 1 November 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.