796 – On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When a human being dies, all his deeds come to an end except for three: a continuous charity, knowledge from which benefit is taken, or a righteous child who prays for him.” Recorded by Muslim (1).

What is derived from the ḥadīth:
1 – The author cites this narration in this chapter because a waqf (charitable endowment) is one form of continuous charity.
2 – The first person to set up a waqf in Islam was ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), as Ibn Abī Shaybah relates: “The very first waqf in Islam was the endowment of ʿUmar.” The full report will come, Allah willing.
3 – Allah has made this world a place of action: people either take provisions of goodness from it or carry with them evil to the next abode—the abode of recompense—where the believers will triumph and the negligent will incur loss.
4 – When a person dies, his deeds cease except for these three, which remain as traces of his work. Allah the Exalted says, “Indeed, We give life to the dead and record what they have sent ahead and their traces” (Yā Sīn 36:12).
5 – The first of the three is continuous charity: endowing real estate whose benefit is enjoyed, donating an animal from which people benefit by riding, providing utensils that are used, books of knowledge, honored Qur’an copies, mosques, and lodges for travelers. For all of these and the like, the reward continues to flow to the servant as long as they remain. This is the greatest merit of a beneficial waqf, for it supports good works—whether knowledge, striving in Allah’s cause, worship, or the like.