This is the eight collection of short summaries of content from Shajarat al-Maʿārif which I post to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. There are other collections. The numbers at the end of entries refer to the item number in the printed text in order to facilitate its reference.
This collection focuses on beneficence and excellence related to endowments, gifts, and inheritance.
Endowments
Benefactors:
- Be eager, lighten stipulations, choose the best avenues of piety for its recipients.
- Avoid disputed & dubious avenues. Allah loves what is wholesome & accepts nothing else. [382]
- When choosing a manager, pick the one who will look after it the best. [383]
Beneficiaries:
- Accept the #waqf as this is #iḥsān towards the benefactor & subsequent beneficiaries. [383]
Managers:
- Develop endowments according to the benefactors’ stipulations or the norms when it was made without deviation.
- Aggressively grow & protect endowments.
- Observe the best interests of benefactor & beneficiaries
- Publicize the focus of the endowment & make it known to its potential beneficiaries #iḥsānology [383]
Gifts
Givers:
- Seek out the righteous & modest, both relatives & strangers; give priority to those most in need.
- Gifts should be free of defect or dubiousness.
- Gifting should not be tarnished with lording, annoying, publicity, or expectation of being matched.
- Do not retract – even in exceptional cases where doing so is permissible [384]
Recipients:
- Give the giver a gift matching the one you receive; if you cannot, supplicate for them [384]
Inheritance
If heirs find anything unlawful in the deceased’s estate, it is returned to its owner, his agent, or the authorities. [386]