الحلقة 13- سنة الوقف - Waqf/Endowments - YouTube

Special thanks to Iqra for its H.R.

Today, people live for sixty, seventy or a hundred years.

How can a person live an enduring life?

Through charity that is unending.

One should start thinking of his legacy right from the prime of youth.

He should consider what projects of his will remain after his death;

whether it is sacred knowledge, spreading the Religion, or any endeavour that benefits society

and by which he will be remembered and earn continuous reward from Allah the Exalted.

Waqf (Endowment)

The concept of endowments is common among later civilizations.

Institutions of higher study, like al-Azhar and even the ancient universities in Baghdad at the time of the Umawi and Abbasid dynasties, were created by endowments.

Even today, we find great universities in the West and East established entirely on endowments.

Why?

Because endowments have an amazing wisdom to them.

When you grant something for endowment, you give its ownership to Allah; for the welfare of that cause.

Meaning, if I have a building and I say this is an endowment for such and such university,

or for the poor and needy,

or orphans,

or widows,

or memorizers of the Tremendous Quran,

then any money earned through the bequest must only be spent for that cause.

Because the rules are that the conditions set by the one making the endowment are as inviolable as a statement in the Sacred Law.

Meaning, if I possess certain wealth and I say I have given it for a particular cause, my will is like a statement from the Sacred Law.

So it is impossible for the wealth to be used except in the matter I specified.

And I, who granted the endowment, cannot influence its affairs thereafter.

Nor can anyone take decisions with regard to it unless it is of benefit to the endowment itself.

The one who devised this concept and manifested it to the world, is our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Yet we have been the slowest people to advance and develop this idea of endowment after our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, provided it with its foundational form.

Endowments in the Prophetic era, peace and blessings be upon him

The idea began with him, peace and blessings be upon him, because he set aside lands and farms as endowments towards charity.

Likewise, our Master 'Umar consulted him, saying, "O Messenger of Allah, I have got some land in Khaybar, and I have got no property more precious to me than it. What do you command about it?"

The Prophet said to him: If you wish, you can make the land an endowment and you can give its proceeds in charity.

What can be an endowment?

A simple person might associate the concept of endowment only with governments and great businesspeople.

[But] an endowment can be made by one gradually saving a little money.

Or perhaps a group of one or two hundred people can agree to collect a certain amount.

When they collect a sufficient amount, they can work on an endowment.

Endowments don't have to be grand matters.

Certainly we need endowments for education, universities and grand mosques. However, one can endow a small mosque or a car..

The predecessors would endow things that would be used to make oil to light a mosque's lamps.

Or they would make an endowment to provide coffee for the mosque.

The level of excellence

If you want to attain the station of doing good to others and the station of excellence, you have to spend from what you love; from the dearest of your wealth to you.

Abu Talha came to the Prophet.

He said, "Messenger of Allah, Bayruha' [a land with palm-trees] is my favourite property.

Allah, Almighty says, {You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love.}

The property I love the best is Bayruha'.

Messenger of Allah, dispose of it in whatever way Allah shows you is best."

(The Prophet) replied: I think that you should give it to your relatives.

So he divided it among his relatives, among whom were Hassan bin Thabit and some Ansaar.

So he divided it among them. The land was an endowment. Its fruit and produce were divided among his relatives and cousins.

It was a continuous charity for him until Allah wills.

Continuous reward

The idea is to have continuous reward, because a person is eager to increase his reward.

One wishes to do business with Allah; a continuous trade.

Life is short. One lives for sixty, seventy or a hundred years.

So how can one do everlasting business with Allah the Exalted?

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"When the son of Adam dies, his acts come to an end, except for three: recurring charity, or knowledge (by which people) benefit, or a pious child who prays for him."

It is reported that our Master Khalid ibn al-Walid donated all his armour and weapons as an endowment in the path of Allah.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

Whoever keeps a horse for the cause of Allah out of faith in Allah and believing the promise of Allah, its feed, water, urine and dung will all count as charity.

Meaning, today for example if someone gives his car as an endowment for the transportation of students of sacred knowledge,

then all of its fuel, expenses, its bodywork and everything that is part of it, will be weighed as charity given by him on the Day of Judgment.

And the charity is continuous until he meets Allah the Exalted.

Successful trade

The benefit of an endowment is that it is never-ending business.

Imagine if you give something as endowment for a mosque, how many people will enter this mosque in a hundred or two hundred years!

If you gave something as endowment to a school of the sacred sciences, how many students will study in this school!

And how many students will graduate from the school and educate people and benefit society and the Ummah!

This is something one cannot compute ever!

The benefits that come from continuous charity or an endowment branch out!

This is why an endowment is a life plan.

One needs to start thinking from the beginning of his youth about what he will do to benefit the Ummah so that rewards can continue to accumulate for him while he's in his grave.

Allah will love you!

This is one of the ways of emulating the Beloved, peace and blessings be upon him, in the field of social service - in serving people and in perpetuating good.

This is a distinct way of the one whom Allah the Exalted sent with benefit for all people.

So if you actualize community service in this way, you will be emulating the best of humanity even after your death.

Through your heritage, you will be following the Master of humanity, peace be upon him.

Thus, you will always have the lights of {Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you!}.