Endowment: Unauthorised Interference in Endowment Affairs

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Endowment: Unauthorised Interference in Endowment Affairs

English:

Question #1994:

Is it permissible for people other than the shar‘ī trustee of the endowment to meddle in the affairs of the trust, so much so that they change the provisions laid down in the endowment deed? Are such people justified in their demands from the trustee to hand over the land to a person whom the trustee does not deem fit?

Answer #1994:

The running of the endowment in accordance with the provisions laid down by the donor in the endowment deed is the exclusive preserve of the shar‘ī trustee. In the absence of an appointed trustee by the donor, the trusteeship belongs to the ruler of Muslims. Thus, other people have no right to interfere in the matter. Furthermore, no one, including the shar‘ī trustee, should have the right to alter the beneficiaries of the endowment or the purpose for which the profit is spent, nor has anyone such right as to change or amend the provisions laid down in the endowment deed.

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