Does the One Who First Installed a Pump Still Get Reward after Its Mechanism Is Replaced?

Question

In our mosque a borehole pump for drawing water, called a hand pump, is installed in the well. Since it had been in place for ten or eleven years, it was often out of order because of its age, causing people inconvenience, and it was constantly being repaired. The people of the neighbourhood and the bazaar benefited from this pump.

Answer

As long as any of the original equipment remains, reward will keep reaching him. Even if all the equipment has been replaced, the passage down to the water that the first person had made for fitting the pump still remains, and its reward will continue to reach him.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.