A man endowed a piece of land for a wali and established a mawlid for him every year. The endower has passed away and the mawlid is no longer held. Does this endowment remain as it was, or is it redirected?
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The questioner : A man endowed a piece of land for a wali and established a mawlid for that wali every year. Now the mawlid is no longer held and the endower has passed away. Does this endowment remain as it was, or is it redirected to another cause, or divided among the heirs? Please inform us what we must do in this matter. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for the answer to this question, it consists of two matters. The first matter concerns endowments and what a person should designate as the beneficiary of his endowment. There is no doubt that an endowment is intended for the sake of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). For this reason, the scholars stated that if it is for a general cause, it must be for righteousness, meaning for obedience.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, I direct my brothers who wish to endow some of their wealth to strive to ensure that the beneficiary is a lawful cause beloved to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so that their endowment is an endowment of righteousness for which they will be rewarded by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). I warn them against making an endowment of deviation and sin, such as what some people do when they bequeath some of their wealth to one of their heirs. A bequest is not executed except after death, and only from one-third of the estate, and it is not permissible for an heir. This is because a bequest to an heir is a transgression of the limits of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has determined for each heir what he is entitled to from the estate of the deceased. If he bequeaths something to one of them, he thereby transgresses the limits of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Therefore, Allah threatened those who transgress His limits when He mentioned the verse of inheritance, saying:[An-Nisa 4:13-14].
If that is the case, and it is necessary for the endower to make his endowment for a matter that is righteousness and obedience, then the best thing I see is to endow wealth for general public interests, such as mosques: their construction, maintenance, and providing what they need, such as carpets, water coolers, air conditioners, and the like. Or for printing useful books that are sound in creed and methodology, so that this falls under jihad in the path of Allah. For jihad in the path of Allah is carried out with the sword and spear, and likewise with the pen and eloquence. This is the first matter.
As for the second matter in answering this question, the endower did not specify the nature of the endowment. Did he make it exclusively for the mawlid of this wali, or did he make it an endowment of righteousness from which a portion is allocated for this mawlid?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If it is the former, the endowment is not valid, because the cause to which it was directed is not a cause of righteousness. Celebrating mawlid anniversaries is not among the prescribed matters; rather, it is among the religious innovations that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his Rightly Guided Caliphs, his Companions, and the guided Imams after them did not practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, this endowment is not valid. However, if the endowment is for a cause of righteousness and this type of mawlid is included among the things to which it is directed, then the endowment remains valid. It is not spent on this type of mawlid, but is spent on other righteous deeds. This is the answer to this question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for the answer to this question, it consists of two matters. The first matter concerns endowments and what a person should designate as the beneficiary of his endowment. There is no doubt that an endowment is intended for the sake of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). For this reason, the scholars stated that if it is for a general cause, it must be for righteousness, meaning for obedience.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, I direct my brothers who wish to endow some of their wealth to strive to ensure that the beneficiary is a lawful cause beloved to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so that their endowment is an endowment of righteousness for which they will be rewarded by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). I warn them against making an endowment of deviation and sin, such as what some people do when they bequeath some of their wealth to one of their heirs. A bequest is not executed except after death, and only from one-third of the estate, and it is not permissible for an heir. This is because a bequest to an heir is a transgression of the limits of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has determined for each heir what he is entitled to from the estate of the deceased. If he bequeaths something to one of them, he thereby transgresses the limits of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Therefore, Allah threatened those who transgress His limits when He mentioned the verse of inheritance, saying:
(13) These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. (14) And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits - He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.
تلك حدود الله ومن يطع الله ورسوله يدخله جنات تجري من تحتها الأنهار خالدين فيها وذلك الفوز العظيم * ومن يعص الله ورسوله ويتعد حدوده يدخله ناراً خالداً فيها وله عذاب مهينIf that is the case, and it is necessary for the endower to make his endowment for a matter that is righteousness and obedience, then the best thing I see is to endow wealth for general public interests, such as mosques: their construction, maintenance, and providing what they need, such as carpets, water coolers, air conditioners, and the like. Or for printing useful books that are sound in creed and methodology, so that this falls under jihad in the path of Allah. For jihad in the path of Allah is carried out with the sword and spear, and likewise with the pen and eloquence. This is the first matter.
As for the second matter in answering this question, the endower did not specify the nature of the endowment. Did he make it exclusively for the mawlid of this wali, or did he make it an endowment of righteousness from which a portion is allocated for this mawlid?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If it is the former, the endowment is not valid, because the cause to which it was directed is not a cause of righteousness. Celebrating mawlid anniversaries is not among the prescribed matters; rather, it is among the religious innovations that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his Rightly Guided Caliphs, his Companions, and the guided Imams after them did not practice.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, this endowment is not valid. However, if the endowment is for a cause of righteousness and this type of mawlid is included among the things to which it is directed, then the endowment remains valid. It is not spent on this type of mawlid, but is spent on other righteous deeds. This is the answer to this question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.