Question

Assalamu Alaikum,

My question is regarding birthplace which is called watan e asli. I want know that if someone leaves his birthplace and shifts permanently to another city where he has his family i.e. wife, children etc. The law of fiqh is that the current place is now watan e asli for him, so will his birthplace too remain his watan e asli forever even though he has nothing left there where he was born?

Answer

Wa alaykum al-salam,

Watan e asli (permanent city/home) refers to the place where a person was born, or a place where a person marries, or a place where he has taken up permanent residence with the belief that he will now not move from here [al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Bahar e Shari'ah]

It stated in Bahar e Shari'ah with reference to al-Durr al-Mukhtar and Radd al-Muhtar:

If a person’s permanent home (watan e asli) is in one city and he has now made another place his permanent home, then in such a case, if his children and his family are still residing in the first city, then [for this person] both places are regarded as permanent (asli). Otherwise, the first will no longer be regarded as watan e asli, irrespective of whether there is a legal distance of travel (57.5 miles) between both these places or not. 

Thus, if an individual moves out of the city wherein he was born, leaving nothing behind, to another city with his family (wife and children) in order take up permanent residence in the new city, then the new city will become his watan e asli, while the city in which he was born will no longer remain his watan e asli. 

And Allah knows best
Muhammad Kalim
21 Ramadan 1438

Verified by Mufti Zahid Hussain al-Qadiri

QUERY
There is a cemetery where there were graves of Ulama, Awliyah and other Muslims. A certain person flattened this place and built a house and he built toilets and bathrooms on these graves, which are parts of the house. When he was asked to abstain from such a despicable act, he became very angry and blatant.

Now, what is the height of his crime according to the Shariat and if he wishes to make tauba, what is the compensation for this act and to whom should he give this compensation?

THE VERDICT:
This person is very sinful and worthy of the fire of hell and the wrath of Almighty Allah. He has transgressed his duties to Allah and to the servants of Allah. It is fardh upon him to repent. He should repent and retract from this act with a sincere heart. He should be ashamed of this sinful act and all his other sins and turn towards Allah for pardon. He has to re erect the graves which he has destroyed. He should retract his
ownership of the cemetery.

He must immediately get rid of the toilets and bathrooms. That
area that is contaminated through impurity must be immediately cleaned and purified. Just by repenting by word of mouth will not be sufficient. He should apologise to those living there and he should continue making Esaal-e-sawaab for the deceased whose graves he destroyed and on whose graves he built toilets and bathrooms.

He must ask forgiveness from those families for insulting them when he harmed the graves of their relatives who were buried there. He has hurt their feelings too.

May Allah bless him with this opportunity.