for a student to receive a stipend elsewhere? If the endowment’s revenue decreases and each student does not receive his full entitlement, may the administrator annul the aforementioned condition or not? If a judge has ruled that the endowment is valid, does the condition become void under these circumstances?

He replied:

The principle underlying these questions is that if the founder’s stipulation constitutes an act of devotion and obedience to Allah and His Messenger, it is valid, even if it is not a binding condition. If it is permissible, the parallel is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, allowed prizes only for camel racing, horse racing, or archery, although he permitted footraces and other competitions without prizes.

Moreover, Allah Most High said concerning property acquired without fighting:

“ So that it may not circulate only among the rich among you.”

Thus, we know that Allah dislikes wealth circulating only among the rich. Although being wealthy is permissible, establishing an endowment exclusively for the wealthy is not permissible; the same reasoning applies to other permissible characteristics.

Furthermore, if an activity is not an act of devotion, the founder receives no reward for spending money on it. He will therefore have spent his money on something that benefits him neither during his lifetime nor after his death. If the person performing that activity derives no worldly benefit from it either, it amounts to tormenting him without any benefit accruing to him or to the founder. This resembles the restrictions placed on property during the days of pre-Islamic ignorance, to which attention is drawn in Surahs al-An‘ām and al-Mā’idah.

If an activity stipulated in any kind of contract provides no religious or worldly benefit