Guardianship over the endowment (Management of the endowment):

The guardianship over the endowment is the authority that entitles whoever has the right to preserve the endowed property, manage its affairs, exploit it, its renovation, and disburse its yields to the beneficiaries.

Whoever has this authority is known as Administrator of Waqf, the Nazir, or the curator. It is well-known in the Arab countries to give the name of the (Nazir) to whoever takes over the affairs of the endowment, and on this, the (Nazir) is:

The person whoever has the right to take care of the endowed property, manage and preserve its affairs, exploit it for a beneficial use, conduct the necessary renovation for it. The legislator makes the guardianship over the endowment a necessary and determined right.

 

Guardianship over the endowment is established for the endower as long as it is alive, and for whom the endowment appointed on his behalf, and after the death of the endower or the appointed administrator (Nazir), the guardianship passes to the judge because of his general guardianship, and he is appointed over the endowment that carries out its affairs.

 

The supreme order issued in 1951 was presented to look at charitable endowments in which there is a share, so consideration was given to the General Endowment Department if the Endower did not require management over it for someone. Whereas if the Endower stipulated the management for someone else, then the Department shall participate in the management with the Administrator (Nazir) appointed from the Endower if the interest requires that.

 

Conditions of the Waqf Administrator:

For the one who is in charge of managing endowment, a number of conditions must be met:

Islam: This is because the management is a guardianship and an infidel does not have a mandate over a Muslim.

Mind: It is not correct for the administrator to look crazy.

Puberty (Legal Age): it is not correct to assume the management to a child.

Justice: is the religious preservation of avoiding major sins, keeping away from minor sins, and performing honesty and good treatment. It is not correct to assume the management of a debaucher or a dishonest person.

Sufficiency: It is the ability of the Administrator to act in what he is managing in the interest.

 

Duties of Waqf Administrator:

Waqf Administrator must do everything necessary to preserve the endowment and take care of its interest, including:

  • Endowment Renovation: to carry out restoration and maintenance work to preserve the endowment's property from ruin and destruction.
  • Implementing the conditions of the endowment. It is not permissible to violate or neglect the conditions of the endowment, and they must be adhered to, except in specific cases whose explanation is provided.
  • Defending the rights of the endowment in judicial litigation, taking care of these rights from being lost.
  • Payment of endowment debts: the debts relate to the endowment's proceeds, but not its property, and the payment of these debts is pre-paid to disbursing those who are entitled to it, because in delaying it, it exposes the endowment to withhold its proceeds.
  • Performing the rights of the person entitled to the endowment and not delaying them except for a necessity, such as the need for the endowment to be renovated, repaired, or the fulfilment of a debt.

What is permissible for a Nazir and what is not permissible:

It is permissible for the Administrator (Nazir) to conduct all actions that have a benefit to the endowment and the beneficiaries, while taking care of what is stipulated by Waqf if it is legally considered. This is including, for example: to lease out the endowed property, even to the beneficiaries, and to spend the rent that he gets in its banks (spending channels) according to what was stipulated by the Endower, and the same is the case with regard to its cultivation, construction and renovation.

 

There are a number of behaviors that are prevented by the Administrator (Nazir) because they harm the interest of the endowment:

  • Being under the suspicion of favoritism, such as renting the endowment's money to himself or to his son, because of the accusation involved.
  • Borrowing guaranteed by the endowment so that the payment is from the proceeds of the endowment, except in case of necessity. This is because it exposes the proceeds to the attachment in favor of the creditors.
  • Mortgaging of the endowment, as this may cause the loss of the endowed property.
  • Endowment loaning except for the beneficiaries.
  • Housing in the properties of the endowment without a fee, or for less than the same fee.

     

Waqf Administrator's fee:

It is permissible for the person in charge of the endowment (Administrator/Nazir) to assign a sum of money every month or year, or a certain relative amount of the yield in return for carrying out the endowment matters and taking care of its interests.

If the Endower assigns a wage to the Administrator, then it is his right, and if the Endower doesn't assign fee to the Administrator for performing the endowment affairs, then the judge may make for him a suitable remuneration so that it does not exceed a similar wage, because the increase in the wage of the same will entail a decrease in the rights of those entitled to the endowment.

 

The Administrator's responsibility and accountability:

The Administrator is considered a trustee of the endowment's money and an attorney for the beneficiaries, so he is responsible for what arises from the default towards the endowment's beneficiaries and its profit in accordance with the general rules of liability. He is also supposed to submit an annual account to the judiciary according to written evidence.

 

Dismissal of Waqf Administrator:

It is permissible for someone who has appointed the authority to manage the endowment to dismiss it, whether it is from the guardian of the Endower or the judge, because the judge has the right to dismiss the judge due to a betrayal/ dishonesty that is evidenced by the administrator or his loss of competence. In the case of dismissal of the Endower, the administrator, shall not be dismissed unless he is aware of the dismissal. Every behavior he undertakes before his knowledge is effective as long as he has the right to undertake it.

 

Endowment leasing:

Leasing is a contract to own the benefit immediately in return for compensation, and its pillar is the offer and acceptance. The endowment lease is stipulated in what is required for the property lease.

Since the Administrator has guardianship over the endowment, he has the right to lease its properties, and the beneficiary does not own it, unless he is appointed by the endowment or authorized by someone who has the jurisdiction of renting from a superintendent or a judge, and this also applies to collecting the rent.

 

The provisions of the Lease Law in force in Kuwait apply to the period of the endowment lease, and it is not possible to violate what is stipulated in it.

It is stipulated for the Administrator that the rent is for a similar fee, in application of the Administrator of responsibility that it includes. Otherwise, his administration is deemed not well, whereby it is necessary to institute the matter to the judiciary to consider whether or not it is in the continuation of the endowment lease and its correction or termination.

 

The Waqf Renovation:

It is one of the most important duties of the endowment administrator, because neglecting renovation of the endowment or its restoration or repair may lead to its ruin and perdition. The jurists have unanimously agreed that renovation is the first duty incumbent upon the administrator, and the renovation of the endowed property is provided to the recipients, whether in the charitable or family endowment, because it leads to permanent use of the waqf and not to miss out on the benefits of waqf.

 

 

Waqf renovation for Exploitation:

If the endowment property is intended for exploitation by nature, such as buildings and farms, then if these endowment objects need reconstruction or repair, he shall spend on them from their yield, even if that leads to depriving the beneficiaries of their rights to the yield.

The Administrator of the endowment is also entitled to set aside a portion of the endowment yield to spend it when renovation is needed.

 

Residential Endowed Property's Renovation:

If the endowment property is intended for a specific use, such as being a house in which the beneficiaries resident, then the one who benefits from these endowed objects is the one who renovates and repairs them from his own money and not from the endowment yield, and that is when the need for renovation arises, because he benefits from it by exploiting its benefits, it is obligatory to reform what is perforated of it, based on the jurisprudential rule of "who benefits from something, he shall reform it".

 

If the one who has the right of residential place - among beneficiaries - refrains from the endowment renovation, then he shall be removed from the endowment, and the Administrator must rent it out and build it up with the lease allowance, and if the rental period ends, the endowed property returns to the one who has the right to usufruct the housing.

 

The entitlement of the beneficiaries' subject to the endowment yield:

The endowment administrator must fulfil the rights of those entitled to the endowment from the beneficiaries, and not delay them at all except for a necessity that requires delaying in giving them their rights, such as the need for the endowment for renovation and reform or fulfilling a debt on the endowment, because this is preceded by giving to those who are entitled to it.

Giving the beneficiaries their rights from the endowment yield, it must be according to what the endower imposed for them, taking into account his condition in that of increase, decrease, advancement and delay, because the conditions of Endowers in this are considered as detailed above.

 

Depriving the beneficiary if he killed the Endower:

Whoever kills the endower of the beneficiaries shall be deprived of his entitlement in the endowment, and the deprivation of the killer does not affect the entitlement of his offspring. This is because whoever hastens something prematurely is punished by depriving it, analogous to depriving the heir of the inheritance if he kills his inheritor. Among the jurists are those who stated that murder is not a reason for depriving the person entitled to the endowment.

 

Interpretation of the words of the Endower:

Meaning of the words are considered in the interpretation of the Endower words, not the intentions. This is due to the lack of access to it, unless evidence is established that indicates that, so it will be relied upon. If the Endower puts his condition, he follows the custom in his time, because he has the condition, then what was closer to the intentions of the Endowers.

 

End of Waqf:

The Supreme Decree of 1951 specified the cases of end of the endowment as follows:

  • The Family endowment ends if all or some of its objects have been destroyed and cannot be constructed or usefully used in any possible way, or there is a way to benefit, but it is a small or late use that does not come until after a long time.
  • The Family endowment must be of high yields, but those who deserve it increased so that the share of each of them in the endowment yield became insignificant. The law did not specify how small the share was, and left its determination to the judge's opinion, because it is not possible to set a single standard of living that includes all people. The judge has to take into account the conditions of the beneficiary and what could be beneficial to him.
  • If the endowment ends in one of these two cases, the endowed property shall be returned to the endower if he is alive. If he is not alive then it becomes the property of the entitled persons at the time of the expiration ruling.
  • The endowment is for family life, and the endowed entity is cut off, and the endower does not make it from after it to the poor and the like, then the situation becomes extinct for him and his offspring so that none of them remains, then the endowment ends with their extinction.
  • The endowment is for family, and the endower has set it for a certain period, then the endowment ends, either with the expiration of that period even if the beneficiaries were still alive, or by the extinction of the beneficiaries, even before the end of the period specified by the endower. Every share of the endowment ends with the extinction of the beneficiaries from the class temporarily by classes, if the endower didn't put a condition in his endowment for the return of this share to the rest of the beneficiaries or some of them. The​ endowment in this case does not end except with the extinction of remainder beneficiaries, or the expiration of the period. If the endowment ends in one of these two cases, it shall be transferred to the property of the endowment if he is alive or to his heirs on the day of his death. If he did not have heirs or they were and became extinct, and if they hadn't have heirs, the endowed property would be to the public treasury, provided that charitable works are provided and help the poor and those in need over anything else.