Endowment: Compensation for Misuse or Damage of Endowed Property
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Endowment: Compensation for Misuse or Damage of Endowed Property
English:
Question #2028:
Does usurping an endowment and disposing of it in avenues other than those specified in the endowment deed call for compensation? And does damaging the property held in trust precipitate the compensation in kind or the value thereof, such as demolition of the property or turning the land held in trust into a road?
Answer #2028:
In a private endowment, such as that dedicated to serving the interests of [one’s] offspring, as well as in an income-generating public endowment, the usurpation of the endowment and having a free hand in it in avenues other than those specified in the endowment deed, or without the permission of the beneficiaries in the first one, and the permission of the shar‘ī trustees in the second one, calls for compensation in kind as well as the compensation of the benefit reaped.
Therefore, the profits from which the rightful users are prevented, whether or not used by the usurper, should be compensated for. The endowment property should be returned if it still exists or the kind/value thereof if it has been damaged, lost, or disposed of [by the usurper]. The compensation received in lieu of the returns should be spent in the avenues specified in the endowment, and the compensation for the actual property held in trust replaces the lost endowment.
In the case of usurping a public utility endowment, such as masjids, schools, bridges, and graveyards whose beneficiaries are the public at large or the endowment whose beneficiaries are named groups of people [such as the poor and the sick], the usurper, who had used the benefits from these endowments for a different purpose, should stand to compensate the profits in kind insofar as the schools, and public baths are concerned, but not those of the masjids, graveyards, holy places, and bridges. If the actual property held in trust is damaged or lost, the usurper should stand to pay compensation in kind or the value thereof. The value should be spent in replacement of the lost endowment.
-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Endowments