Fatwa No. (125)
As the guardian of the estate of the mother of His Majesty King Saud—may God have mercy on her—we found among her possessions several endowment (waqf) documents, including the endowment deed of a building in al‑Muqaybirah, a copy of which is enclosed. Since we have a surplus of its revenue after fulfilling the designated allocations, and since the late mother—may God have mercy on her—also left a number of endowed houses designated for imams and muezzins, some of these imams and muezzins have submitted requests for the renovation of these houses. However, we do not have funds available for their renovation.
Thus, is it permissible for us to renovate these houses using the surplus revenue from the aforementioned endowment?
This concludes the question.
Upon reviewing the referenced deed, two documents were found: the first, No. 615/11, dated 26/12/1380 AH, issued by the Riyadh Notary Public, confirming ownership of the building mentioned by the overseer; and the second, No. 533/8, dated 17/11/1380 AH, also issued by the Riyadh Notary Public. At the bottom of this second deed appears the following statement:
“The revenue mentioned above was endowed by Wadha, the mother of Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al‑Faisal. She designated from its revenue four sacrificial animals (udhiyah). After specifying the beneficiaries of these sacrifices, she stated: ‘Whatever remains after the sacrifices shall be spent on breakfast and water for the mosques,’ and she listed seven mosques. This was recorded in 1385 AH and bears the seal of Shaykh Abdul‑Latif ibn Ibrahim—may God have mercy on him.”
Answer:
After the Committee studied the question and the two attached deeds, it issued the following response:
Since the ownership and endowment status of the house have been established, the primary use of its revenue is for its maintenance. Whatever remains after its maintenance is to be spent first on the allocations specified by the donor—namely, the sacrificial animals, breakfast, and water for the mosques she listed. If anything remains after that, and since the houses designated for the imams and muezzins are themselves part of the same endowment and require repair, it is permissible to renovate these houses using the surplus revenue, after fulfilling the donor’s stated conditions.
It is also appropriate to note that these houses, being endowed for the benefit of imams and muezzins, must have their maintenance prioritized over the personal use of the imams and muezzins. Therefore, to ensure their preservation in the future, an annual rental value should be assigned to each house, and they should be inspected at the end of every year. If a house requires repair, it should be renovated from its assigned revenue, and whatever remains may then be given to the imam or muezzin for whom the house was endowed.
And God grants success. May blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Fatwa
President: Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al‑Sheikh
Vice President: Abdul‑Razzaq ‘Afifi
Member: Abdullah bin Ghudayyan