13 – The passage shows that the conditions laid down by the founder of a waqf must be fair, sound, and in accordance with the Sacred Law. This is based on the hadith recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever stipulates a condition that is not found in the Book of Allah, it is invalid—even if he should stipulate it a hundred times.”

Any oppressive or unjust conditions—such as those meant to deprive certain heirs or to favor some of them without legitimate cause—are therefore prohibited and void.

14 – It follows that scholars, judges, notaries, and all who draft people’s documents—whether endowments or wills—must guide the parties to what accords with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger and keep founders and testators away from injustice and bias. Allah the Exalted says, “Whoever fears that the testator may have been partial or sinful and so brings about reconciliation between them incurs no sin. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 2:182)

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “Whoever, in a waqf, gift, sale, marriage, lease, vow, or any other contract, lays down conditions that contradict what Allah has prescribed for His servants—by commanding what He has forbidden, forbidding what He has commanded, permitting what He has prohibited, or prohibiting what He has permitted—such conditions are invalid by the consensus of the Muslims in every contract, whether it be an endowment or otherwise.”

15 – The narration also specifies some of the charitable avenues to which the proceeds of a waqf ought to be directed:
• The poor, which includes the needy who cannot meet their annual expenses. The author states: “If an endowment is designated for the poor, the founder’s own needy relatives have priority over unrelated poor people when their need is equal.”
• Relatives, meaning one’s kin by blood or marriage. Preference should be given to the nearest of them when the need is equal; otherwise, the greater need takes precedence.