the founder, when poor, have priority over unrelated poor people whose needs are equal to theirs. The administrator may give such a relative enough to meet his needs if no one has a stronger claim. If a poor person should be in dire need, relieving that need is obligatory. If this can only be done by reducing what those others receive from this endowment to meet their needs, without thereby leaving them in dire need, then that must be done. And Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A man appointed a person of influence to oversee an endowment comprising mosques, lodges, and other institutions, relying on his religious commitment and knowing that he intended to serve their best interests. Upon taking office, he found that these endowments were not being administered properly and were subject to interference. Direct involvement in their administration was considered undesirable, lest their funds become an object of greed. Those involved pay no attention to disbursing the funds to their rightful recipients. They include the judge, the preacher, the imam of the congregational mosque, and others, who draw upon the endowment as a whole. Despite his diligent and strenuous efforts, he is unable to prevent interference with these endowments.

Is it permissible for the questioner to withdraw from their administration and cease attending to such of their interests as he can, knowing that, where remuneration is involved, interference with them and covetousness for their funds increase? Is it permissible for him to receive payment from them for his work, given that he has a family to support and cannot obtain their sustenance from any other source? And is it permissible for the administrator, if he finds a place in ruins, to spend