Endowment: Using Ḥusayniyyah Proceeds Built on an Endowed Caravanserai Site
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Endowment: Using Ḥusayniyyah Proceeds Built on an Endowed Caravanserai Site
English:
Question #2034:
A caravansary was endowed to generate income from travelers passing by. The trusteeship of, and proceeds from, the endowment used to be vested in the imam of a masjid situated opposite the inn. In view of the fact that the matter was not properly explained to the mujtahids at the time, the inn was demolished and a ḥusayniyyah built on the same site. Should the proceeds of the new place be used for the purposes of the original building?
Answer #2034:
No one has the right to change the caravansary held in trust as a public endowment, whose proceeds were intended for special purposes, to an endowment dedicated to serve a public interest, such as ḥusayniyyahs. It is, therefore, imperative to restore the building of the inn to its original state so that its facilities can be rented to the caravan owners and travelers and the proceeds spent in the avenue specified by the donor. However, it is permissible for the shar‘ī trustee [to forgo the previous arrangement], should he see that the interest of the trust is best served, now and in the future, by renting the [new] place to hold acts of religious worship and spend the rent in the avenue specified in the endowment deed.
-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Endowments