“O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Allah has already ordained for you the expiation of your oaths.” [al-Taḥrīm 66:1–2]
Thus, it may be understood from his saying, “I have forbidden it,” that he has forbidden himself from driving it and benefiting from it. In that case, it is an oath; when he offers the expiation for an oath, he may resume using it.
So, if he says, “I have forbidden my car,” and we then see him wishing to sell it, we say to him: “Did you intend an endowment or not?” If he says, “I did not intend an endowment,” we say: “Sell it and offer the expiation for an oath.” But if he says that he intended an endowment, it becomes an endowment.
The second is his statement, “or the accompaniment of one of the five expressions.” These are three explicit expressions and two indirect ones, aside from the indirect expression that constitutes the formula itself. For there are three explicit expressions and three indirect expressions; thus, the accompaniment of one of the five expressions means the three explicit expressions and two of the indirect ones.
An example is for him to say: “I have given it in charity as an endowment for Zayd.” Here, the endowment is established, because he has coupled “I have given it in charity” with one of the five expressions of endowment, namely, “as an endowment.” If he says, “I have forbidden this to Zayd permanently,” the endowment is established, because he has coupled it with permanence in saying, “permanently.”
And if he says, “I have made this perpetual as a charitable gift for Zayd,” the endowment is established, because it has been coupled with one of the five expressions, namely, “a charitable gift.”
The third is his statement, “or a ruling of an endowment”; that is, it is coupled with a ruling of an endowment. Among the rulings of an endowment is that it may not be sold. Thus, if he says, “I have given this in charity to Zayd as a charitable gift that may not be sold,” it becomes an endowment. But if he says, “I have given it in charity to Zayd as a charitable gift,” it is not an endowment, because the author says, “or a ruling of an endowment.”