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Is it permissible to retrieve the book "Riyad al-Salihin" that was endowed for the deceased and is not being utilized by anyone in the mosque, for personal use so that its benefit may return to the deceased?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Whoever dedicates something for the sake of Allah Almighty, it leaves his possession. Therefore, it is not permissible for him to reclaim it or dispose of it for his own benefit. However, it is permissible to move it to another place if that is for the benefit of the endowment (waqf), as narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that he endowed his land in Khaybar on the condition that it should not be sold, gifted, or inherited. The Fiqh Encyclopedia states that once an endowment becomes binding, it is not permissible to revoke it. Ibn Baz and Ibn Uthaymeen hold the view that it is permissible to move an endowed item to another mosque if the first mosque is no longer in need of it or if the relocation is more beneficial. Therefore, the book must be moved to another mosque where it can be utilized.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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