Is it permissible to sell and buy books on which "waqf for Allah" is written?
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The questioner : And Allah, there are some books that have "waqf for Allah the Exalted" written on them. Is it permissible to sell or buy them?
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible.
The questioner : In Saudi Arabia, they sell them in the bookstores.
The Shaykh : What about Saudi Arabia? It has become the era of the Prophetic covenant, meaning Saudi Arabia is like other countries, especially the merchants; they do not prohibit or permit [such things].
The questioner : The small mushafs have "waqf for Allah the Exalted" written on them, and they sell them.
The Shaykh : You have not added anything to what your companion said.
The questioner : I mean, is it not permissible for us to buy these mushafs, for example?
The Shaykh : If they are waqf, it is not permissible.
The questioner : It is written on them that they are waqf.
The Shaykh : My brother, I understood you. It is written on them that they are waqf. Is that not more emphatic than if "waqf" were not written on them? That is, they are a bequest of waqf, but "waqf" is not written on them. Is it permissible to sell them? It is not permissible. That is, any book, like this book, what is written here? "Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah." Where is it found? In a mosque. It is not written on it that it is waqf. This has become waqf simply by being placed in the mosque, even if it is not written on it. So if "waqf" is written on it, it is all the more so. Therefore, it is not permissible for what is waqf for Allah the Mighty and Majestic to be sold or bought. Otherwise, you would open the door for selling all Islamic endowments to people, and people would trade in them. This has happened, unfortunately. We see in the Levant a mosque where you enter and feel that a house has been carved out of it. How did this happen? It is theft and encroachment on the endowment. And the days have passed. Others, please go ahead.
The Shaykh : No, it is not permissible.
The questioner : In Saudi Arabia, they sell them in the bookstores.
The Shaykh : What about Saudi Arabia? It has become the era of the Prophetic covenant, meaning Saudi Arabia is like other countries, especially the merchants; they do not prohibit or permit [such things].
The questioner : The small mushafs have "waqf for Allah the Exalted" written on them, and they sell them.
The Shaykh : You have not added anything to what your companion said.
The questioner : I mean, is it not permissible for us to buy these mushafs, for example?
The Shaykh : If they are waqf, it is not permissible.
The questioner : It is written on them that they are waqf.
The Shaykh : My brother, I understood you. It is written on them that they are waqf. Is that not more emphatic than if "waqf" were not written on them? That is, they are a bequest of waqf, but "waqf" is not written on them. Is it permissible to sell them? It is not permissible. That is, any book, like this book, what is written here? "Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah." Where is it found? In a mosque. It is not written on it that it is waqf. This has become waqf simply by being placed in the mosque, even if it is not written on it. So if "waqf" is written on it, it is all the more so. Therefore, it is not permissible for what is waqf for Allah the Mighty and Majestic to be sold or bought. Otherwise, you would open the door for selling all Islamic endowments to people, and people would trade in them. This has happened, unfortunately. We see in the Levant a mosque where you enter and feel that a house has been carved out of it. How did this happen? It is theft and encroachment on the endowment. And the days have passed. Others, please go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.