Definition of Waqf, Its Conditions, and Its Types

Question:
This questioner sent this question, saying: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, tell us about waqf (an endowment). What is it? What are its conditions? And what is the best thing for a Muslim to endow during his lifetime?

Answer:
Waqf is one of the acts of drawing near to Allah. It is a continuing charity whose reward continues for the one who establishes it during his life and after his death. It has great virtue. Most of the Companions who had wealth to endow did so, because they knew the virtue of waqf. Waqf is of two types: a waqf that takes effect during one’s life. This becomes binding from the moment it is pronounced, and it exits the ownership of its owner to become the property of the endowment.
The second is a waqf contingent upon death. This does not become binding until after death, and it has the ruling of a bequest. The phrases for waqf are, for example, saying: “I have endowed,” “I have restricted,” “I have dedicated,” or “I have made perpetual.” It is spent on what the one establishing it desires from acts of drawing near to Allah, such as charity, giving to his needy relatives, starting with them, and other things that bring one closer to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), from the income of the endowment. As for the endowment itself, it is never sold, given away, or revoked. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you.