An Eid Gah Immediately Adjacent to the Town

Q: Salaah-703: Someone wished to donate a piece of land for an Eid Gah. However, the land is on the edge of the built-up area and it is expected that it will soon fall within the town. Can this land be accepted as an Eid Gah? If it can be accepted, must it be used as an Eid Gah or can it be used for other purposes?

Answer: An Eid Gah needs to be outside the town. This is the Sunnah practice. Refer to Durrul Mukhtaar (Vol.1 Pg.177), Tahtaawi alaa Durrul Mukhtaar (Vol.1 Pg.560), Umdatur Ri'aayah (Vol.1 Pg.245), Majaalisul Abraar (Majlis 33 Pg.212), Fat'hul Qadeer (Vol.1 Pg. 423), Kabeeri (Pg.529) and Fataawaa Siraajiyyah (Pg.18). All these books use the word 'Jabaana', which refers to a deserted place outside a town.

If all probabilities indicate that the place in question will soon be absorbed into the town, it should not be accepted for the purposes of an Eid Gah. It may be used for other Deeni purposes, such as constructing a Madrassah or a Masjid if need be. People who are religious, responsible, wise and with experience need to be consulted on the matter and only with their advice should it be accepted for a Madrassa or Masjid. And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2