Endowment: Validity of a New Endowment When an Old, Unproven Trust Claim Emerges

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Endowment: Validity of a New Endowment When an Old, Unproven Trust Claim Emerges

English:

Question #2049:

Forty years ago I donated a property to build a refuge for orphans on it. The trust, verified by the Office of Endowment, has been running ever since. Of late, someone has produced a copy of a document stating that the land had, for the past three centuries, been held in trust. Since the original document does not exist, the document in question does not mention the name of the trustee, there has never been a precedent of any practice that the land had been held in trust then, and since the holders of the actual control reject the claim, can this document be a hindrance to the continuation of the existing endowment for the purpose it was set up to serve?

Answer #2049:

The endowment deed alone, whether original or copy is not a legal proof of the endowment. So long as the previous endowment cannot be established in a valid way according to Islam, the existing one is deemed valid and fully operational.

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