Endowment: Moving Endowed Manuscripts to a Library for Preservation

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Endowment: Moving Endowed Manuscripts to a Library for Preservation

English:

Question #2056:

Some priceless manuscripts and books that are found in some centers and private homes are held in trust in those places. Some of these gems are on the road to ruin because of neglect. Is it permissible to transfer these manuscripts and books to a special room in the central library to preserve them from wear and tear, and eventual loss, without changing the nature of the original charter of the endowment?

Answer #2056:

It is not permissible to move these priceless books to another place, so long as it was made conditional, at the time of finalising the endowment deed, that the benefit derived from them should be where they are kept provided that it is viable to keep them in good condition. Alternatively, there is no objection to transferring them from where they belong to some other place where they can be maintained in good condition.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Endowments