Endowment: Ruling on Selling Endowed Arable Land When Its Beneficiaries Cannot Maintain It
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Endowment: Ruling on Selling Endowed Arable Land When Its Beneficiaries Cannot Maintain It
English:
Question #2074:
A person set up an endowment trust of arable land and irrigation water for the benefit of his sons. Since he has many sons, the cost of cultivating the land is high, and the yield is low, nobody seems to be keen on tilling the land. If the situation remains thus, the land would turn into a wasteland. Is it permissible to sell the property and spend the proceeds in charitable causes?
Answer #2074:
It is not permissible to sell or alter the endowment so long as it is feasible to benefit from it in the avenue specified in the endowment deed, even by leasing it to some of the beneficiaries or to a third person with a view to spending the rent in the appropriate avenue. Another way could be by changing the use of the property held in trust. If it is not at all feasible to make it of use, it is permissible to sell it. However, should this course of action be taken, it is obligatory to buy other property with the proceeds made in order to spend the same in the avenues specified in the endowment deed.
-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Endowments