necessitates equality between the two parties, and equality is not realized except through equal division (6). If he says: "I have endowed it to Zayd, 'Amr, and the poor," then it is divided among them in thirds.
Section: If it is intended to distinguish the endowment [from the unencumbered property] (7) by partition, this is based upon partition: is it a sale or a separation (8) of a right? The correct view is that it is a separation of a right, so one looks; if there is no compensation (radd) in it, the partition is valid. If there is compensation in it from the side of the endowment owners, it is also valid because it is a purchase of something from the unencumbered property. If it is from the owner of the unencumbered property, it is not valid because it is a purchase of a portion of the endowment, and its sale is not permissible. If the undivided share is an endowment for two parties and its people want to partition it, it is based on what we have mentioned, and it is not valid if there is any compensation in it at all. Whenever partition is valid in an endowment, and one of the two partners or the guardian of the endowment requests it, the other is forced [to comply], because every partition that is valid without compensation or harm is obligatory.
930 - Issue; He said: (And if the endowment is not upon a known party or an act of piety, it is void.)
In summary, an endowment is not valid except upon someone who is known, such as his child, his relatives, or a specific man, or upon an act of piety, such as building mosques, bridges, books of jurisprudence, knowledge, and the Qur'an, graveyards, water-dispensing stations, and the path of Allah. It is not valid upon an unspecified person (1), such as [any] man or woman, because an endowment is the transfer of ownership of the substance or the benefit, so it is not valid upon an unspecified person, like sale and leasing. It is also not valid upon an act of disobedience, such as fire temples, churches, synagogues, and books of the Torah and the Gospel; for that is an act of disobedience, as these places were built for disbelief and these books are altered and abrogated. This is why the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - became angry when he saw with 'Umar a page containing something from the Torah and said: "Are you in doubt
(6) In the copies: "bi-al-tasnif" (classifying). (7) In MS (m): "al-mutlaq" (the absolute). The word "al-talaq" (unencumbered) appeared in what follows in MS (m): "al-mutlaq". (8) In MS (m) here and in what follows: "iqrar" (acknowledgment). [Note: The manuscript variant reading likely reflects an orthographic confusion with the intended technical term "ifraz".] (1) From here to his saying "ghayr mu'ayyan" (unspecified person) later, [the text] is missing from: the original manuscript.
