Section: Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding a man who has a house in the outskirts of the city, or a grant of land (qati'ah), and wanted to remove it from his possession: He may endow it. He said: The grants of land return to the original estate when he assigns them to the poor. The apparent meaning of this is the permissibility of endowing landed property (al-sawad), and it is an endowment in its origin. Its meaning is that its endowment corresponds to the original, not that it becomes an endowment merely by this statement.

929 - Issue; He said: (The endowment of an undivided share [musha'] is valid.)

This is the opinion of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Abu Yusuf. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: It is not valid. He based this on his principle that possession (qabd) is a condition, and that possession is not valid in an undivided share. Our evidence is that in the hadith of 'Umar, it is mentioned that he acquired one hundred shares of Khaybar, sought the permission of the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - regarding them, and he commanded him to endow them (1). This is the nature of an undivided share. Furthermore, because it is a contract that is permissible regarding a portion of the total as a specific share, it is permissible regarding it as an undivided share, like a sale. Or, it is a piece of land whose sale is permitted, so its endowment is permitted, just like the specific share (3). Also, because endowment is the tethering of the principal and the making of the benefit available, and this occurs in the undivided share just as it occurs in the specific share (4). We do not concede the consideration of possession, and even if we did concede it, if it is valid in a sale, it is valid in an endowment.

Section: If he endows his house for two different purposes, such as if he endows it for his children and for the poor, in equal halves, or thirds, or however it may be, it is permissible. It is the same whether he designates the destination of the endowed property for his children and the poor, or for another party besides them, because if it is valid to endow a part individually, it is valid to endow two parts. If he makes the endowment general, and says: "I have endowed this house of mine to my children and to the poor," it is divided between them in halves (5), because the general attribution to both of them