Buying with the Intention of Waqf Does Not Make the Property Waqf

Question

Two men together bought a piece of land with the intention of waqf, for the benefit of the public, in order to dig a well. After the well was dug, water came out, but because of its poor quality it could not be used for drinking; it is used for other purposes. For a long time this well lay as it was, and no one used it.

Answer

1. Land does not become waqf merely by being bought with the intention of waqf. If one partner or both partners change their intention and build a private house, there is room for it in the Shariʿa. But if, having bought it, they made it waqf and, having had the well made, said orally or wrote that “we have made the land waqf,” then declaring it private property thereafter and…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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