except through a contract, and the guardian is not permitted to contract a mudaraba with himself. As for handing it over to someone else, the manager receives what the guardian has designated for him and agreed upon with him—meaning they both agreed upon it—because the guardian is a deputy for the orphan in matters that contain his interest, and this contains his interest, so his action regarding it becomes like the action of an owner regarding his own property.

Section: It is permissible for the guardian of an orphan to invest his property. Its meaning is giving it to someone who will trade with it, while the entire profit belongs to the orphan. It has been narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she invested the property of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Because if it is permissible to give it for a portion of its profit, then giving it to someone who will increase the profit is worthier. It is also permissible for him to purchase real estate for him, as it is in his interest; for there is profit obtained from it, the principal remains, and the risk in it is less than in trade, since its basis is preserved. It is permissible for him to build real estate for him, because that has the same meaning as purchasing, unless purchasing is more beneficial and possible, in which case it must be prioritized. If he intends to build, he should build with what he sees as being in the orphan's best interest. Our companions said: He should build with fired bricks and mud, and should not build with sun-dried bricks, because if it is demolished, it has no residual value; and not with gypsum, because it adheres to the fired bricks and cannot be separated from them, so if it is demolished, the bricks are ruined, for detaching it leads to breaking them. This is the school of Al-Shafi'i. The view we have stated is worthier, if Allah the Exalted wills, for if the interest lies in building with something else and he abandons it, he has wasted his interest and his property. It is not permissible to waste an immediate interest and suffer a certain, imminent harm for the sake of the mere conjecture of the benefit of preserving the bricks upon the demolition of the building; perhaps that will not even happen in his lifetime, and he will not be in need of it. Moreover, in many lands, fired bricks are not found, and in many of them, it is not their custom to build with them. If they were mandated to build with them, they would incur great expense without any significant benefit. The statement of our companions is specific to those whose custom is to build with fired bricks, such as in Iraq and similar regions, and it is therefore not valid for others.

Section: It is not permissible to sell his real estate without a need, because we order him to purchase it due to the benefit it contains,