Is it permissible for the supervisor of an endowment to take something from the endowment in return for his work and effort?

The questioner : My father has a piece of land called al-Sabil, which is for the benefit of the aforementioned mosque. My father performs the duties of this land and takes half in return for managing it, while the other half belongs to the mosque. He records its value with him, and the amount remains as a balance with him without him doing anything with it for the benefit of the mosque. Is this permissible, or must this al-Sabil be left entirely for the mosque? Does my father owe anything for not doing anything for the benefit of the mosque with the amount in his possession? Is he obligated to do so?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that your grandfather, who established this al-Sabil, appointed a supervisor for it, either from among the descendants or from others. If your father is the supervisor, then he must do what is best for this endowment, such as developing it or increasing its yield. He is allowed to take a share if he does not volunteer to work for a certain amount, because he is not obligated to work for free. He may take what others take according to custom and common practice.
As for the yield that is obtained, it is obligatory for him to spend it on the interests of this mosque and not to leave it idle. If the yield is more than what the mosque needs, and the yield is available every year, he should spend the surplus beyond the mosque's needs on another mosque, thereby increasing the reward of the one who established the endowment, and not leave this yield idle.