In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate. May Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family, and grant them salutations of peace.

Book of Endowments (aḥbās)

When one is in sound health, an endowment is taken from the whole capital; when one is in the throes of illness, it is limited to one-third of the estate.

A ḥabs (charitable endowment) is for a person who owns and controls his property to give, as he wishes, any portion of his house, palm-grove, vineyard, or other real estate, so that the revenues, land-tax, and benefits thereof continue to be spent in the avenue he has designated—whatever draws a person nearer to Allah. The corpus of the property itself becomes locked: it may never be sold, gifted, or inherited for as long as any part of it remains.

Whoever establishes such an endowment is bound by it; he may not revoke it during his lifetime, nor is it inherited from him once it has been set apart and validly taken into possession, according to the forms of possession outlined earlier in the chapter on charity and gifts.

An endowment also comes into force as a perpetual waqf when, while still healthy, he declares, “My land” or “My house …”