Sale of Endowment and Changing its Use 13item A person donated building materials to a masjid. Some of these materials have become surplus to the requirements of the building. Is it permissible to sell the extra materials and use the proceeds in settling the outstanding debts incurred by the masjid management and in meeting its needs? A pulpit was donated to a masjid. It transpired that it is not feasible to make use of the pulpit because of its height. Is it permissible to exchange it for another suitable one? My father donated a piece of land that boasts few palm trees with the intention of using the proceeds in feeding the public during the commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Ḥusayn (a.s.) in Muḥarram and the Night of Destiny (Qadr) in Ramadan . A century on, the palm trees can hardly yield anything. Being the eldest son of my father and his appointed agent, is it permissible for me to sell the land and build a school with the proceeds of the sale so that it can be a source of continuous charity for his soul? 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? A person donated a piece of land for aḥusayniyyah to be built on it. The ḥusayniyyah was built. However, a group of people turned a part of the ḥusayniyyah into a masjid. They are now holding congregational prayers in the place as though it were a masjid. Can their action be sanctioned, and should it follow that the rules governing masjids can apply to what seems to be a de facto masjid? A number of business properties, built on a land held in trust, were leased to the existing tenants without charging them sarqoflī. Can the tenants ask potential tenants to pay such sarqoflī? Assuming it is permissible for them to do so, to whom should the sarqoflī go, i.e. to the tenants or to the endowment trust - so that the proceeds could be spent in the avenues specified in the endowment deed? A person made his private library an endowment for his male offspring. Since none of his offspring has become a clergyman, the books were left to gather dust. Termite damaged some. Others are on the road to ruin. Is it permissible for the inheritors to sell those books? Is it permissible to sell the land held in a private trust that was acquired by the donor by virtue of the execution of the Land Reform Act? The gold, weighing 3 kg. and adorning the domes of a holy shrine, had been stolen on two occasions. However, it was retrieved on both occasions. In order to prevent future robbery, is it permissible to sell the gold and spend the proceeds on repairing the building of the holy shrine? A piece of arable land, which is held in trust, was higher than the adjacent lands. Therefore it was impossible to water it. Now it is leveled out. The extra soil was heaped in the middle of it, preventing any efforts to cultivate it. Is it permissible to sell the extra soil and spend the proceeds on an adjacent holy shrine? A century ago, a person made his property endowment for his male offspring. He made a provision in the endowment deed that in the event of any of beneficiaries becoming poor by shar‘ī definition, they should have the right to sell their shares to the other beneficiaries. A few years ago some of them took this option and sold their shares to the other shareholders. Some people have raised some objections as to the legality of such a sale on the grounds that the property was an endowment. It is to be noted, however, that this is a private endowment. That said,would the sale and purchase, which were carried out in accordance with the provisions laid down by the endower, be sanctioned? 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? A person sold a piece of land they inherited and signed a binding contract to this effect. After a while, it transpired that the land was held in trust. Would this revelation render the sale null and void? If this is so, should the vendor compensate the buyer for the price he paid for the land, at the time of sale, or should he pay the current market price?