to consult the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—about what he should do with it, for the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—would spend from what they loved. The Prophet directed him to establish an endowment, saying, “If you wish, retain its corpus and give it in charity.” (1) Another wording states: “Retain its corpus and devote its yield to charitable use.” (2)

This was the first endowment in Islam. It had not been known in the pre-Islamic period; rather, Islam introduced it. Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—therefore did so and designated its beneficiaries, which we shall mention later, if Allah wills.

Whenever Ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with him and his father—was pleased by something from his wealth, he would give it in charity, applying the words of Allah Most High: “You will never attain righteousness until you spend from that which you love.” [Al Imran: 92] (3)

When Allah revealed this verse, Abu Talha—may Allah be pleased with him—came to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and said, “O Messenger of Allah, Allah has revealed: ‘You will never attain righteousness until you spend from that which you love.’ The most beloved of my property to me is Bayruhaʾ,” the name of a palm grove facing the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. It contained pleasant, fresh water, from which the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would come and drink. There can be no doubt that it was Abu Talha’s most valuable possession. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, place it wherever you wish.” The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Excellent, excellent! That is profitable wealth; that is profitable wealth. I think that you should give it to your nearest relatives.” So he assigned it to his relatives and paternal cousins. (4)