If land is endowed for a general benefit, the disposition of its produce is cut off from being used for a similar benefit
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 1506 )
Q: His grandfather endowed a piece of land measuring twelve and a half and one-eighth of a ma'ad, and he endowed it for a well, then his grandfather, then his father, and he left behind nothing other than what was mentioned. Now the well has been abandoned and people have become independent of it due to the installation of water pipes in artesian wells. We are in great need of this endowment. Is it permissible for us to use this endowment or not?
A: If the situation is as described, regarding the endowment for the well and the fact that it is no longer needed, it is obligatory to keep the land itself as an endowment and to spend its produce on public facilities for the people of the area where the well is located, such as building a mosque, repairing one, establishing a Quran memorization center, or assisting the poor and needy from it. The poor relatives of the endower are more deserving of taking from the produce of this endowment than others. If the legal interest requires selling it because its benefits have ceased or diminished, and spending its price on another property with greater produce, there is no harm in that; after the judge of the town agrees to it, and the produce of the purchased land is spent on what
we mentioned earlier. As for the heirs of the endower, they have no right to it in their capacity as heirs; because an endowment is not inherited. However, there is no objection to giving them from the produce if they are poor, as mentioned above. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: His grandfather endowed a piece of land measuring twelve and a half and one-eighth of a ma'ad, and he endowed it for a well, then his grandfather, then his father, and he left behind nothing other than what was mentioned. Now the well has been abandoned and people have become independent of it due to the installation of water pipes in artesian wells. We are in great need of this endowment. Is it permissible for us to use this endowment or not?
A: If the situation is as described, regarding the endowment for the well and the fact that it is no longer needed, it is obligatory to keep the land itself as an endowment and to spend its produce on public facilities for the people of the area where the well is located, such as building a mosque, repairing one, establishing a Quran memorization center, or assisting the poor and needy from it. The poor relatives of the endower are more deserving of taking from the produce of this endowment than others. If the legal interest requires selling it because its benefits have ceased or diminished, and spending its price on another property with greater produce, there is no harm in that; after the judge of the town agrees to it, and the produce of the purchased land is spent on what
we mentioned earlier. As for the heirs of the endower, they have no right to it in their capacity as heirs; because an endowment is not inherited. However, there is no objection to giving them from the produce if they are poor, as mentioned above. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.