Taking electricity from someone else and renting out lights for playing football (soccer)
Question We have in our street in Jeddah (in Saudi Arabia) a simple football playground which neither we own nor we know the owner of it (government or individuals we don’t know). We used to play in this playground since a long time, and as long as we take care of it since years (cleaning…
Question
Now, some people from within or outside our district come to play at night so they want us to turn on the pole lights for them, in return we asked them to pay small fees against this light source, and already they agreed. Now we hire these pole lights to anyone wants to play. So what is ruling on hiring these lights knowing that that we don’t hire the land itself neither do we prevent anyone from playing on it anytime? Only we take fees against the light source. Advise please Sheikh as we fear to be unjust. Also, must we tell the owner of the house from which we take light source about such a hiring? He is non-Saudi, so all he wants is just to avoid troubles with the authorities here.
Praise be to Allah.
It is not permissible to rent these lights to anyone,
because the electricity used for them does not belong to you. What you
have to do is tell the owner of the house and ask his permission to let
others use it, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “It is not permissible (to take) the property of a Muslim
except with his consent.” Narrated by Ahmad, 20172; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 7662.
And Abu Dawood (5003) narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Saa’ib
from his father from his grandfather, that he heard the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “No one of you should take
his brother’s property in play or in earnest. And whoever has taken his
brother’s staff, let him return it.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood.
And Ahmad (27803) narrated from Abu Humayd al-Saa‘idi (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “It is not permissible for a man to take his brother’s staff
without his consent.” That is because of the fact that the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) emphatically forbade one
Muslim to take the property of another Muslim. Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 5/280
It says in Subul al-Salaam (3/61): The hadeeths
indicate that the property of a Muslim is haraam unless it is given
willingly, even if it is small, and there is scholarly consensus to that
effect. End quote.
It is no secret that the owner of the house pays money in
return for what he uses of electricity. Taking electricity from him without
his permission is a transgression and wrongdoing. If we add to that the fact
that you are taking money from others in return for that, it comes under the
heading of consuming people’s wealth unlawfully.
Based on that, you have to do three things:
1.Repent to Allah, may He be
exalted, from transgressing against the rights of your brother and using his
property without his permission.
2.Tell him of what has happened
in the past and ask him for forgiveness, and pay for electricity that you
have used if he wants that.
3.Do not take electricity from
him for anyone except with his permission.
We should point out that it is not permissible to organise
football matches in return for payment. See the answer to question number
131652.
And Allah knows best.
