Is an unborn child entitled to the fruits or yield of endowed property?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Endowments (Awqaf) and Donations

Book 27 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

A fetus (*haml*) in existence at the time of endowment (*waqf*) receives no share of the property's yield until it is fully separated (born), as the fetus does not possess legal standing in worldly affairs before birth. Imam Ahmad, according to the narration of Ja'far ibn Muhammad, ruled that if date palms had already flowered (*abrat*) when a new heir is born into the endowment, the newborn receives nothing, and the yield belongs entirely to the original beneficiaries. This is because the pre-flowering yield follows the principal tree, but post-flowering yield follows the established right holder. Similarly, a newborn receives no share of standing crops (*zar'*) that the seller was entitled to, but does receive a share of crops that appear after birth, because the right to the principal land is newly established for the newborn, analogous to a buyer acquiring a share of the principal.