Planting Trees on Waqf Land, Then Cutting Them Down to Farm It for Greater Income

Question

Question: Zayd made a piece of land a waqf for the expenses of a mosque, and specified these expenses in detail as follows: its income is to be spent on the imam’s salary, floor mats, brooms, ablution jugs, repair of the mosque and the like. Some time later a grove of local mango trees was planted on it. Since considerable time has passed and the trees have grown old, very little crop comes on them, and the mosque’s expenses are not met from its income.

Answer

The waqif made the land a waqf; a well-meaning mutawalli planted mangoes on it so that the income would increase. Now, because little fruit comes, the income has decreased, and there is a preponderant presumption (zann ghalib)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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