Islamic Endowment/Waqf; Leasing for impermissible Activities?
Question:
Please advise if Waqf land can be leased out to homeowners association on which certain impermissible activities (selling alcohol) is done. There is no financial need from the owners of the Waqf land. The proportion of the impermissible acivity is not from the major leased activity.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We apologize for the belated response.
Your questions refer.
The concept of Waqf/Islamic Endowment refers to the devolvement of ownership rights to Allah SWT Himself. In other words, by form of designation, the Waqif/donor devolves the complete ownership of his/her property to the ownership of Allah SWT. The Waqif/donor is permitted to lease the Mawqoof/leased asset for the ultimate beneficiation of the Mawqoof/leased asset for maintenance and further development purposes. If the Waqif does not specify a fixed period in the lease, then the lease will be for a maximum period of 3 years.
Nevertheless, with regards to the lease to the homeowners association and the subsequent impermissible activities conducted on such land, then such impermissible activities will not impact the permissible nature of the initial lease agreement due to the indirect sinful activities caused through such lease agreement. (Sabab Ba’eed Ghair Muharrik). However such a lease agreement will be Makrooh Tanzeehi. (Jawahir al-Fiqh)
The juridical rationale behind such a ruling is that the Waqif/donor is not directly involved in such sinful activities and did not contract with the homeowners association for such purposes. Therefore the initial lease agreement will be permitted albeit Makrooh Tanzeehi. Therefore we advise against such lease agreements in principle as a matter of Taqwa and Ihtiyaat (caution). We advise in general for such Waqf deeds to be drafted to prevent such scenarios to adopt a more comprehensive approach to such matters in ensuring strict shariah compliance.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
(Mufti) Ismail Desai
Chairman of Shariah Board and Fatwa Committee,
Darul Iftaa, Durban, South Africa
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and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ismail Desai
Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this answer belong only to the author and do not in any way represent or reflect the views of any organizations to which he may be affiliated with. The opinions and educational information proffered in this communication are based on the jurisprudential understanding and available knowledge of the author. Given that contemporary issues and interpretations of contemporary issues are subjective in nature, another scholar may reach different juristic inferences and conclusions to those as expressed by the author. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure total academic integrity and honesty, the author is open to corrective measures based on sound academics and juristic inferences. The Shari’ah ruling given herein is based specifically on the specific scenario in question. The author bears no responsibility towards any party that acts or does not act on this answer and is exempted from any and all forms of loss or damage. This answer may not be used as evidence in any court of law without prior written consent from the author. Any or all links provided in our emails, answers and articles are restricted to the specific material being cited. Such referencing should not be taken as an endorsement of other contents of that website.
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