then this stipulation does not entitle him to act as he pleases or to follow conjecture and personal desires. Rather, it entitles him to take the best course for pleasing Allah and His Messenger.

This applies to everyone who acts on behalf of others by virtue of his authority, such as the ruler, the judge, the founder of an endowment, its trustee, and others. When it is said that he may choose between one course and another, or do whatever he wishes and considers appropriate, this is a choice governed by benefit, not by personal desire. What is meant is that he is not bound to take one particular course; rather, he may depart from it for one that is more beneficial and more pleasing to Allah and His Messenger. The founder himself stipulated: “According to his judgment and choice and what he considers beneficial.” All of this requires him to exercise his judgment and choice in accordance with Islamic law, pursuing the benefit recognized by it.

He may consider something beneficial while Allah and His Messenger command otherwise; in that case, it is not beneficial as he supposes. He may also choose what he desires rather than what pleases Allah, in which case his choice is to be disregarded. Even if the founder explicitly stipulated that the trustee could act entirely according to his desires and judgment, this stipulation would not be valid; rather, it would be void, because it contradicts the Book of Allah:

“Whoever stipulates a condition that is not in the Book of Allah, it is void, even if there are a hundred conditions. The Book of Allah takes precedence, and Allah’s condition is more binding.”

That being so, if the trustee’s dismissal of someone and appointment of a replacement accord with the command of Allah and His Messenger, neither the dismissed person nor anyone else may reject that decision, nor may the dismissed person take anything from the endowment