The ruling on an endowment and working in it if its benefits have ceased
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His Eminence the Shaykh: My father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away and left us a house in which we lived for a period of time. The mother recalls that before his death, the father endowed it with one-third of what he left behind, for the 'Id al-Adha sacrifice and the 'Id al-Fitr meal. There is nothing to prove that it was an endowment. The house has fallen into disrepair and is currently of no use. We now have a sum of money that we inherited from our father, but this amount is not enough to build this house. Furthermore, some of my sisters are in dire need of money; their circumstances are weak, and they want to distribute this money. What should be done, may Allah preserve you, regarding this house and this money? May Allah reward you with good?
As for the money, the money you found after your father’s death is an estate and must be distributed to its rightful heirs. As for the house, it has not been established as an endowment with a valid legal proof, because a woman’s testimony does not establish an endowment. However, if it is most likely in your opinion that the mother was certain of this matter, then it is obligatory for you to keep away from this house and consider it an endowment. If it is currently of no use, obtain permission from the court to sell it, and use the price to build mosques; because building mosques is better than a sacrifice or a meal that comes year after year.Unless he said: If it is an endowment for his children, then it is sold, and a house is bought with the proceeds to be an endowment, as the father specified.
The questioner: And the endowment?The Shaykh: The well belongs to its owners. It remains in this house even if you sell it. The buyer must be informed that there is a well in it.
As for the money, the money you found after your father’s death is an estate and must be distributed to its rightful heirs. As for the house, it has not been established as an endowment with a valid legal proof, because a woman’s testimony does not establish an endowment. However, if it is most likely in your opinion that the mother was certain of this matter, then it is obligatory for you to keep away from this house and consider it an endowment. If it is currently of no use, obtain permission from the court to sell it, and use the price to build mosques; because building mosques is better than a sacrifice or a meal that comes year after year.Unless he said: If it is an endowment for his children, then it is sold, and a house is bought with the proceeds to be an endowment, as the father specified.
The questioner: And the endowment?The Shaykh: The well belongs to its owners. It remains in this house even if you sell it. The buyer must be informed that there is a well in it.