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Is buying a house for orphans considered an ongoing charity (ṣadaqah jāriyah), knowing that it might be sold in the future?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Perpetual charity (ṣadaqah jāriyah) is an endowment (waqf), characterized by the inalienability of the principal and the dedication of its yield or usufruct, like 'Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) endowment of his land in Khaybar. As for non-perpetual charity (ṣadaqah ghayr jāriyah), the principal is not inalienable; rather, it is given to the poor for them to own and benefit from. If a house is transferred to the ownership of orphans, it is a non-perpetual charity, and they have the right to sell it. However, if it is made an endowment for them, it is a perpetual charity, and they do not own the right to sell it. An endowment for a specific beneficiary is valid. If the endowment is designated solely for these orphans, excluding their children, then should they all pass away, the endowment becomes one with a severed beneficiary lineage (munqaṭi‘ al-jihat) and reverts to the heirs of the endower, as an endowment for them, unless otherwise stipulated. It is permissible to make the house an endowment for orphans to inhabit in rotation.

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

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