What happens if a Waqf is stipulated upon a prohibited beneficiary followed by a permissible one?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Endowments (Awqaf) and Donations
Primary text
If an endowment is stipulated upon a prohibited recipient (like a slave) and then upon the poor, there are two differing opinions regarding its validity, hinging on the principle of splitting the transaction. Imam Al-Shafi'i holds two opinions corresponding to these two views. If the transaction is deemed valid, and the initial prohibited recipient is one whose cessation cannot be accounted for (e.g., churches), the benefit is immediately redirected to a permissible recipient because acknowledging validity requires disregarding the impossible condition. If the prohibited recipient is one whose cessation can be anticipated (e.g., a specific slave), the ruling is divided further.
Supporting text
One opinion states that the benefit immediately transfers to a permissible recipient, as noted by Abu Al-Khattab. The second opinion, held by Al-Qadi and Ibn Aqil, mandates that the benefit is channeled to the default recipient for an interrupted endowment until the prohibited party ceases to exist, after which it transfers to the intended beneficiary, as the permissibility for the latter recipient was conditioned upon the extinction of the former.