He was asked about a hadith school whose founder stipulated in its endowment deed the following, which I have transcribed verbatim. He stated:

“Authority over the affairs of those belonging to the institution, in all their categories—including appointment and dismissal, granting and withholding payments, increasing and reducing them, and similar matters—rests with the institution’s shaykh. Likewise, oversight of its library and all similar or related matters rests with him. In any matter in which the endowment is under his charge, he may delegate responsibility to someone who will undertake it.”

He then stated:

“Oversight of the endowments and their financial affairs rests with the founder—may Allah multiply his reward—who may delegate it to whomever he wishes. Whoever receives this delegated authority assumes it by virtue of the stipulation made when the endowment was established. Thereafter, it passes to the Muslim judge in Damascus. He may also make payments from the endowment’s revenue to others, whether employees or otherwise, as circumstances require.”

If the endowment deed contains no further stipulations concerning oversight, does the wording of the aforementioned stipulation restrict the oversight assigned to the judge to a judge of one particular school of law? Or is it not restricted to a particular judge, but instead vested in whoever serves as a judge in Damascus, whichever of the four schools of law he follows? And if it is not