Masala fi al-Kanais

Masala fi al-Kanais (The Issue Concerning Churches) is a legal treatise and fatwa by the Hanbali jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) addressing the legal status, construction, maintenance, and demolition of non-Muslim houses of worship under Islamic law Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.

Background and Context

The work was composed in response to a formal query regarding churches in Cairo and other cities that had been closed by the authorities Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…. Non-Muslim subjects (ahl al-dhimma) had petitioned the Muslim ruler to reopen them, contending that their closure was unjust and claiming that the structures had stood since the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab with the approval of the early caliphs Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…. Ibn Taymiyya composed the treatise to refute these assertions and articulate the legal status of places of worship in Islamic territories Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…+1.

Legal Arguments and Content

Ibn Taymiyya rejects the claim that the closure of the churches was unjust, stating that scholars across the four Sunni legal schools—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali—as well as early jurists such as Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, and Layth ibn Sa'd, agreed that a Muslim ruler possesses the legitimate authority to close or demolish churches in lands conquered by force (‘anwa) if he exercises personal legal reasoning (ijtihad) to that effect Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…+1.

He refutes the historical claim regarding Cairo by noting that Cairo was founded more than three hundred years after the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, long after garrison cities such as Basra, Kufa, Wasit, and Baghdad were established Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…+1. Consequently, any churches within Cairo were newly established (muhdatha) rather than dating to the early conquests, with many having been erected during Fatimid rule Hukm Bina al-Kanais wal-M…+1.

In the treatise, Ibn Taymiyya sets forth a threefold classification governing non-Muslim places of worship:

1. Newly established churches in Muslim-founded cities or lands taken by force: These are impermissible according to scholarly consensus and must be removed or demolished Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.
2. Pre-existing churches in lands conquered by force: In regions such as the Levant and Upper Egypt, the ruler has discretion based on public welfare (maslaha) either to permit them to remain or to seize and repurpose them if Christian populations diminish or if harm arises for the Muslim community Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.
3. Churches preserved by formal peace treaties (sulh): Pre-conquest churches secured under explicit treaty conditions, such as those within the walls of Damascus, cannot be seized or demolished so long as the non-Muslim population upholds the treaty terms, unless altered through mutual agreement or compensation Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.

Transmission and Editions

The text of the fatwa was recorded and discussed by Ibn Taymiyya's student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in his work Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma Masala fi al-Kanais+1. It is also preserved in Ibn Taymiyya's compiled legal rulings, appearing in Majmu al-Fatawa (volume 28) and in Jami' al-Masa'il Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1. A standalone edition edited by Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Shibl was published in Riyadh in 1416 AH / 1995 CE al-Munazarat al-Aqadiyya ….