to the founder, in accordance with the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ words to Abū Talhah: “I think you should give it to your nearest relatives.” An exception is where he says, “for their lifetimes”: Ibn al-Mājishūn held that it then reverts to him as his property once the descendants have died out. However, some scholars distinguish between these expressions according to their different meanings, as we shall explain, Allah willing. There are five expressions: children (walad), descendants (‘aqib), sons (banūn), offspring (dhurriyyah), and progeny (nasl). Each expression gives rise to five questions:

The first, concerning the expression “children,” is where he says, “I have endowed it for my children (waladī),” or “for my children (awlādī),” without adding anything further.

The second is where he says, “I have endowed it for my children and my children’s children,” or “for my children and their children’s children.”

The third is where he says, “I have endowed it for my children (waladī) and their children,” or “for my children (awlādī) and their children.”

The fourth is where he says, “I have endowed it for my children, male and female,” without naming them individually, “and for their children.”

The fifth is where he says, “I have endowed it for my children—so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so,” naming his male and female children individually, “and for their children.”

Section
On the First Question

If the founder says, “I have endowed it for my children (waladī),” or “for my children (awlādī),” without adding anything further, the endowment is for his immediate children, male and female, and for his sons’ children—the males, but not the females. Daughters’ children are not included. This is the position of Mālik—may Allah have mercy on him—and all his earlier followers, for in Islamic law the term “child” properly applies only to those who trace