A perpetual charitable endowment — property held permanently, its benefit dedicated to a purpose.
In Islamic law
A waqf removes property from the estate permanently, dedicating its usufruct to a charitable or family purpose. Because it is a completed dedication it does not form part of the inheritable estate, though a waqf created in the final illness is treated under the wasiyyah rules.
In Canadian law
The nearest Canadian vehicles are the charitable trust and the registered charity. A perpetual private trust may collide with the rule against perpetuities in some provinces; a charitable purpose trust generally escapes it. Structuring a waqf here needs a lawyer.
We have not yet researched whether the four Sunni schools differ on this term, so we are not going to tell you either way. Where a specific case turns on it, ask a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.
Canadian legal detail
Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:
- Refinancing property held in trust ontario
- Charitable remainder trust ontario
- Deposit held in trust ontario
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
- Refinancing property held in trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Charitable remainder trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Deposit held in trust ontario — Treadstone Law
- Charitable gift charity merged since will made ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law