Donating from property jointly mixed between a minor and an adult

Question

Zayd and Bakr are two brothers; on their father’s death both became heirs to the estate he left. Bakr is a minor orphan, and the property is joint; Zayd is an adult: he earns a living and increases the estate, and he also guards whatever property there is, and so on. From this joint property Zayd performs the sacrifice, gives sadaqa, also feeds people, and donates to religious works such as madrasas. Is it permissible for Zayd according to the Shari‘a to do these good deeds or not?

Answer

(1) Spending from the joint property on such occasions is not permissible, because neither of the two brothers has the right to dispose of the other’s property; rather, each is like a stranger with respect to the other — so it is in al-‘Alamgiri. However, what he earns separately he may dispose of, and he may spend it on the mentioned occasions as well. (2)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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