Building a hall in the basement of the Musjid

Q: What is the Shar'ee ruling regarding the building a multi purpose hall on the ground floor and a masjid directly above it?

A: We discourage a multipurpose hall in the vicinity of the musjid, for it is possible for some type of a nikaah ceremony to be held there and there may be a mixed gathering or a gathering of women at some point in time. These types of get-togethers can coincide with namaaz times resulting in quite a bit of disturbance or distraction to musallees, either in the parking or at the entrances or at some point or the other.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)