Taking the Mosque’s Hot Water Home

Question

A person, taking some donations from the people of the neighbourhood and spending a great deal of his own money, built a mosque, and then made a house and a shop waqf for specific needs of the mosque — namely only for mats, oil, ewers and the repair of the mosque. Its income is always spent on the said needs of the mosque. The people of the neighbourhood demand that its income be spent on the costs of hot water, while the owner of the waqf says that he made the waqf for the said specific needs.

Answer

Since the waqif (endower) does not permit heating water, but rather explicitly forbids it, then under the rule “the stipulation of the waqif is like the text of the Lawgiver” (شرط الواقف كنص الشارع) it is not proper to spend the income on heating water. However, if the waqif gives permission, it is permissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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