The Sale of Distributed Books and Endowed Books
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner asks: Some organizations distribute books that are not considered an endowment (waqf). If they are distributed by some organizations, are they considered an endowment? And if the word "endowment" is written on them, is it permissible to sell them?
The Shaykh:
If the word "endowment" is written on them, it is not permissible to sell them. That is the end of it; it is an endowment. However, if they are distributed as a donation and not as an endowment, there is no harm. That is, if someone gave you books, it is permissible for you to sell them. But if the word "endowment" is written on them, it is not permissible to sell them.
The questioner:
So, if one finds a used book for sale that has the word "endowment" written on it, is it permissible to buy it?
The Shaykh:
No, it is not permissible to buy it. However, they say that it is permissible to exchange a dinar for a Muslim book. Yes. May Allah forgive you for it. Yes.
The questioner asks: Some organizations distribute books that are not considered an endowment (waqf). If they are distributed by some organizations, are they considered an endowment? And if the word "endowment" is written on them, is it permissible to sell them?
The Shaykh:
If the word "endowment" is written on them, it is not permissible to sell them. That is the end of it; it is an endowment. However, if they are distributed as a donation and not as an endowment, there is no harm. That is, if someone gave you books, it is permissible for you to sell them. But if the word "endowment" is written on them, it is not permissible to sell them.
The questioner:
So, if one finds a used book for sale that has the word "endowment" written on it, is it permissible to buy it?
The Shaykh:
No, it is not permissible to buy it. However, they say that it is permissible to exchange a dinar for a Muslim book. Yes. May Allah forgive you for it. Yes.
Source
شرح زاد المستقنع [63] — alfawzan.live (1:10:28)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.