Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
2685. If a person makes something Waqf, it ceases to be his property,
and neither he nor anybody else can either gift it or sell it to any person.
Also, no one can inherit anything out of it. There is, however, no harm in
selling it in certain circumstances, as mentioned in rules nos. 2102 and 2103.
2686. It is not necessary to utter the formal declaration of Waqf in
Arabic. If, for example, a person says: "I have waqfed this book for the
students" it will be considered valid. In fact, Waqf is established by conduct
as well.
Therefore, if a person spreads a mat in a mosque with an intention
of Waqf, or constructs a building having an appearance of a mosque, with an
intention of giving it away as a mosque, the Waqf will be established. In the
cases of public Waqfs, like a mosque, a madressah, any public utility, or Waqf
for general poor or Sadat, it does not require anyone to make a formal
acceptance. In fact, even private Waqf, like the one created for one's own
children, do not require any reciprocal acceptance.
2687. If a person marks a property for Waqf, but regrets before
actually making a Waqf, or dies, the Waqf is not considered as established.
2688. If a person Waqfs a property, he should make it a perpetual Waqf
from the day he declares the Waqf. Therefore, if he says: "This property is Waqf
after my death" the Waqf will not be valid, because it would not cover the
period from the time of declaration till his death.
Also, if he says: "This
property will remain Waqf for ten years and will not be Waqf thereafter" or
says: "It will be Waqf for ten years and thereafter it will not be Waqf for five
years, and will become Waqf again after the expiry of that period", such a Waqf
will not be valid.
2689. A private Waqf will be valid when the property which has been
waqfed is given away, at the disposal of beneficiaries of the first category, or
their representative or guardian. And, if a person Waqfs something upon his
minor children, and looks after it on their behalf with the intention that it
will become their property, the Waqf is in order.
2690. In the case of public Waqf like madressahs, mosques etc. it is
not necessary that it be possessed by any gesture. The Waqf is established
immediately upon its declaration as such.
2691. It is necessary that the person who makes a Waqf should be
Baligh and sane, and should be doing so of his free will and niyyat. Also, he
should have the right, according to Shariah, of disposal and discretion over his
property. Based on this, feeble-minded person who squanders his wealth and is
therefore debarred, cannot make a valid Waqf.
2692. If some property is made Waqf for an unborn child, it is a
matter of Ishkal for that Waqf to be valid, and it is necessary to observe
precaution in this case. But, if Waqf is created for some persons who are
present at that time, and also for the persons who will be born later, even if
they may not be in the womb of their mothers when the Waqf was made, it will be
in order.
For example, if a person Waqfs a property for his children and
after them for his grandchildren, and for every succeeding generation to benefit
from it, the Waqf is in order.
2693. If a person creates a Waqf for himself, for example, if he Waqfs
a shop for himself so that its income may be spent for the construction of his
tomb after his death, the Waqf is not in order. But, if, he creates a Waqf for
the poor and later on, he himself becomes poor, he can benefit from the accruals
of that Waqf.
2694. If a person appoints a Mutawalli (trustee) of the property
waqfed by him, the trustee should act according to his instructions, but if he
does not appoint a trustee and say, he has waqfed the property for a particular
group, like, for his children, the discretion rests with them, and if they are
not baligh, the discretion rests with their guardian.
And the permission of
the Mujtahid is not necessary for appropriating any benefit from the Waqf. But
for any such steps taken to safeguard the interest of the Waqf, or the interest
of future generations, like repairing or hiring it for the benefit of the future
generation, permission from the Mujtahid is necessary.
2695. If a person Waqfs a property, for example, for the poor, or for
the Sayyids, or he Waqfs it for charitable purposes, and does not appoint the
trustee for the Waqf, the discretion with regard to that Waqf rests with the
Mujtahid.
2696. If a person Waqfs a property for a particular group, like, his
descendants, so that every generation should benefit from it successively, and
to achieve that purpose, the trustee of the Waqf leases it out, and then dies,
the lease will not become void.
But, if the Waqf has no trustee, and one
generation for whom the property has been waqfed, leases it out and they die
during the currency of the lease, and the next generation does not endorse the
lease, the lease becomes void; and if the lessee has given rent for the entire
period, he is entitled to receive the refund of rent which covers a period from
the time of their death till the end of the period of lease.
2697. If the Waqfed property is ruined, its position as Waqf is not
affected, except when the Waqf is of a special nature, and that special feature
ceases to exist. For example, if a person endows a garden and the garden is
ruined, the Waqf becomes void and the garden reverts to the heirs of the person.
2698. If one part of a property has been waqfed and the other part is
not, and the property is undivided, the Mujtahid, or the trustee of the Waqf, or
the beneficiaries can divide the property and separate the Waqf part in
consultation with the experts.
2699. If the trustee of Waqf acts dishonestly, and does not use its
income for the special purposes, the Mujtahid should assign an honest person to
act with the dishonest trustee in order to restrain him from acting dishonestly.
And if this is not possible, the Mujtahid can replace him with an honest
trustee.
2700. A carpet which has been waqfed in Husayniya (Imambargah) cannot
be used in mosque for offering prayers, even if the mosque may be near the
Husayniyah.
2701. If a property is waqfed for the maintenance of a mosque, and
that mosque does not stand in need of repairs, and it is also not expected that
it will need repairs for quite some time, and if it is not possible to collect
and deposit the accrual till such time when it could be used for the repairs,
then, as an obligatory precaution, the income should be used for the purposes
which has nearest conformity with the intention of the one who waqfed it, like
spending it in other needs of the same mosque, or for the repairs of any other
mosque.
2702. If a person waqfs some property for the repairs of a mosque, and
the Imam of the congregation, and the Mu'azzin, and if the quantity for each has
been specified by the donor, it should be spent in the same manner.
But if,
it is not specified, the mosque should be repaired first, and if there is any
balance, it should be distributed between the Imam of the congregation and
Mu'azzin, by the trustee, as he deems fit and proper. But it is better that
these two beneficiaries reach a compromise between them in respect of the
distribution.