Endowments: Is it permissible to sell them for a benefit, such as expanding a mosque?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, we have established that it is not permissible to sell endowments.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So if it is for a benefit... for example, a piece of land that is an endowment or a house that is an endowment, and then, for example, we want to build a mosque or expand a mosque, how does one mean buy it?
The Shaykh : In this matter, if a person wants to convert endowments to something more beneficial, does he have the right to do so? There is disagreement among the scholars. Some say he does not have the right to do so unless the benefits of the endowment are suspended, in which case it is sold and its equivalent is bought. Do you understand?
The questioner : I understood.
The Shaykh : And some said it is permissible to change it to something more beneficial, and this is the correct view. They cited as evidence for this the hadith of the man who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the year of the Conquest and said: "I vowed that if Allah opens up Makkah for you, I would pray two rak'ahs in the House of Prayer (al-Masjid al-Aqsa)". He said: Fulfilling a vow is more binding than executing an endowment. So if it is permissible to deviate from the lesser to the greater in a vow, then an endowment is all the more so. Yes?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So if it is for a benefit... for example, a piece of land that is an endowment or a house that is an endowment, and then, for example, we want to build a mosque or expand a mosque, how does one mean buy it?
The Shaykh : In this matter, if a person wants to convert endowments to something more beneficial, does he have the right to do so? There is disagreement among the scholars. Some say he does not have the right to do so unless the benefits of the endowment are suspended, in which case it is sold and its equivalent is bought. Do you understand?
The questioner : I understood.
The Shaykh : And some said it is permissible to change it to something more beneficial, and this is the correct view. They cited as evidence for this the hadith of the man who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the year of the Conquest and said: "I vowed that if Allah opens up Makkah for you, I would pray two rak'ahs in the House of Prayer (al-Masjid al-Aqsa)". He said: