“Waquf” is the keeping of a property in its original form and spending its proceeds on the expenses of some person(s), or on any other use as may be specified, such as allocating a piece of land for a mosque, school, husseiniyyah, or to the poor.

Waquf is of two kinds: “Private” and “Public”. “Private” Waquf refers to the endowment one allocates to their children. “Public” Waquf is the endowment allocated for a mosque, a school, a husseiniyyah or to the poor.

Issue 1354: If a person endows something, it ceases to be their property, and neither they nor anybody else can either gift or sell it to anyone, and no one can inherit that property anymore. There is, however, no harm in selling it in certain circumstances explained in jurisprudential books and references.

Issue 1355: It is not necessary to utter the formula of endowment in Arabic, and it will be valid if, for example, a person says, “I endowed my house” and it does not require a formal acceptance even in the case of private endowment.

Issue 1356: Endowment is not necessarily established from the time of making the formal dedication by pronouncing the formula. Hence, if some one should say that a certain property of theirs will be endowed after their death, it will be valid; however, since the endowed property has not been taken over, the inheritors can cancel the endowment.

Issue 1357: The person making the endowment must be a sane adult and should be doing so of their own free will and intention -although an endowment made by a discerning ten-year-old child who is mature and sane will also be acceptable- and the person should legally have the right to take possession of their own property. Thus, endowments made by a feeble-minded person who does not have the right to take possession of their own property are not valid.

Issue 1358: When a person endows a property to a particular group like their descendants, so that every generation should benefit from it successively and the trustee of the endowment leases the property out and then dies, the lease will not become void if the interests of the endowment itself and of the next generation have been taken into account; but when the endowment has no trustee, and one generation, to which the property has been endowed, leases it out and then dies while the lease is still in effect, the lease will be void if the next generation does not endorse it, and if the lessee has paid the rent for the entire period of the lease, they will be entitled to receive the refund of the rent which covers the period from the time of their death till the end of the period.

Issue 1359: If an endowed property is ruined, its position as endowment will not be affected.

Q1360: With respect to the importance of centers for higher education and research in today's world, and in line with fulfilling that mission, and with regard to the fundamental need of these centers for private helps and funding and considering the importance of the favorable tradition f endowment, I beg to have your Honor's opinion on endowments made for such centers.

A: Endowment made for universities and research, scientific, training and educational centers in the Islamic republic is not only a favored tradition and a fair method, but also highly regarded as a religious virtue which deserves the greatest of rewards since it is in line with the safekeeping and strengthening and scientific integrity of the country.

Q1361: While in the state of anger in a quarrel with my children, I endowed my house, but after a while I regretted that decision. Of course, the formula of endowment had been pronounced and the deed of endowment had been registered and issued in the name of the relevant authorities. Is such an endowment valid?

A: The condition for validity of an endowment is that the endowed property should be handed over to the trustee or to the party in favor of whom it is endowed. Thus, as long as the trustee or the party to the benefit of whom the property is endowed has not taken the possession of the property, the endowment can be cancelled and if the person who makes the endowment regrets before the property is handed over, the endowment will be void.

Q1362: When I went to the Holy Mecca, I gave my agate ring to one of the servants of the Masjid-ul-Haram (the Holy Kaa’ba) as a gift and, he, in return, gave me a valuable copy of the Holy Quran. After looking over the said Quran, I observed a smell hallmark which showed that in fact that Quran had been endowed to the Masjid-ul-Haram. I asked the servant about this and he said that if a large hallmark was put on the first page of that Quran, it would be indicative of that Quran having been endowed to the mosque. I therefore took the Quran to Iran with me. Now I would like to know whether it is necessary for me to take this book back to the Masjid-ul-Haram.

A: As a precaution, to say the least, you should return the Quran to the Majid-ul-Haram, because even if it is not an endowment, the fact that its ownership has been given up has not been proven.

Q1363: There are a number of Qurans in a mosque which are valuable due to their antiquity and therefore open to danger. With regard to the fact that they are not in regular and frequent use, and that they are endowed properties, is it possible to take them to a museum or some other place, where they could be kept safe from possible theft and destruction?

A: With regard to the fact that using these kinds of Qurans merely for reading causes damage and is rather wasteful, they should be presented to the Organization of Cultural Heritage and the Organization of Endowments of the Islamic Republic; and then, in the name of the original endowers, some other Qurans should be provided for use in that mosque and those precious Qurans should be kept in a suitable place equipped for the safekeeping of such Qurans and old texts, so that it would help both realizing the tradition, “endowments should be used in the same manner and condition that they have been endowed”, and preventing the wastage of such properties.

Q1364: A person endowed two sixths of their house in Tehran to a mosque, and another two sixths to a husseiniyyah in the provinces, and now he is dead. Is it permissible to pull down the whole house and build a husseiniyyah? What about pulling down the whole house, building a husseiniyyah and from its rent, paying two sixths to the mosque and two sixths to the husseiniyyah in question?

A: It is not permissible for the endower, let alone others, to make any changes to the endowed property when those, to the benefit of whom the property has been endowed, have taken the possession of it. However, if something has not been endowed but willed to be endowed, and if it is the remainder of the property after one third has been taken away, this remainder will belong to the heirs and is their possession.