Endowment: Ruling on Changing the Purpose of Donated Land After a School Endowment

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Endowment: Ruling on Changing the Purpose of Donated Land After a School Endowment

English:

Question #2072:

I donated a piece of land to the Ministry of Education to build a school on it. However, after further research and consultation, I have found out that if the land were sold, it would fetch a price sufficient for building several schools in other parts of the town. I approached the said Ministry with a view to selling the land under its auspices in order to build a number of schools in the southern part of the town or in deprived areas. Is it permissible for me to do that?

Answer #2072:

If, after the endowment deed is concluded, the land was actually handed over to the Ministry of Education, in its capacity as the recipient of the endowment, you have no right of disposal over the land any longer. Nor do you have the right to revoke the trust. However, if the special formula of endowment — even in a language other than Arabic — was not uttered, or if the Ministry did not take actual possession of the land, it would still be in your ownership and you have the right of disposal over it.

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