preserving the benefit of the endowment that is possible to preserve, and protecting it from loss, and there is no way to achieve that except through this method.

A section: If the benefit of the endowment is not completely hindered, but has diminished, and another [use] is more beneficial than it and yields a greater return to the people of the endowment, it is not permitted to sell it. This is because the original principle is the prohibition of sale; it is only permitted due to necessity, to protect the purpose of the endowment from loss while it is possible to achieve it. With the presence of benefit, even if little, the purpose is not lost. Unless it reaches a point of scarcity in benefit such that it is no longer considered a benefit at all; in that case, its existence is like its non-existence.

A section: Ahmad said, in the narration of Abu Dawud, regarding a mosque whose people wanted to elevate it from the ground and place a water reservoir and shops underneath it, and some of them refused: "The opinion of the majority among them is to be considered." Our companions disagreed on the interpretation of Ahmad's words. Ibn Hamid held that this applies to a mosque whose people wanted to establish it from the beginning, and they disagreed on how it should be done, and he called it a mosque before its construction metaphorically because that is its intended outcome. As for after it has become a mosque, it is not permitted to make it a water reservoir or shops. The Qadi held the apparent meaning of the text, which is that it was [already] a mosque, and its people wanted to elevate it and make what is underneath it a water reservoir due to their need for that. The first [interpretation] is more correct and appropriate, even if it contradicts the apparent meaning; for the mosque may not be moved, replaced, have its courtyard sold, or turned into a water reservoir and shops, except when it is impossible to utilize it. The need for a water reservoir and shops does not hinder the benefit of the mosque, so it is not permitted to divert it for that. If it were permitted to make the lower part of a mosque a water reservoir and shops for such a need, it would be permitted to destroy the mosque, turn it into a water reservoir and shops, and build a replacement mosque in another location. Ahmad also said, in the narration of Bakr ibn Muhammad from his father, regarding a mosque that was not secure from dogs and had a minaret, that he granted a concession to dismantle it and use it to build the wall of the mosque for the sake of public interest.