To whom does an endowment revert if the designated beneficiaries cease to exist and no specification was made for the remainder?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Endowments (Awqaf) and Donations
Primary text
If an endowment, which is validly established with a known commencement but an unknown or finite end (e.g., designated for a generation that can naturally pass away), has no final recipient specified (like the poor or an enduring category), and the original beneficiaries perish, one narration from Abu Abdullah (Imam Ahmad) states that it reverts to the heirs of the endower. This is because the initial ownership was removed for God, and since the specific purpose has ended, the remainder goes to those whom God directed His wealth to after the endower's death, supported by the Hadith commanding one to leave heirs wealthy and by the principle that relatives are the most deserving of one's charity.
Supporting text
There is another narration stating that it becomes an endowment for the closest paternal relatives (asaba) of the endower, following the order of succession concerning the patronage of freed slaves (Wala' al-Mawali). A third narration suggests it reverts to the Muslim treasury (Bayt Mal al-Muslimin) as ownerless property. Another opinion suggests it passes to the poor and needy (Fuqara and Masakin) as a perpetual charity, differing from cases where the endower designated beneficiaries merely for temporary sustenance. Imam Abu Yusuf held that it reverts to the endower and his heirs unless the wording was explicitly 'a perpetual charity,' in which case it goes to the poor and needy.