Al-Waqf

1) Ibn ‘Umar reported: ‘Umar acquired a land at Khaibar. He came to Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) and sought his advice in regard to it. He said: “Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam), I have acquired land in Khaibar. I have never acquired property more valuable for me than this, so what do you command me to do with it?” Thereupon he (Allah’s Apostle, Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: “If you like, you may keep the corpus intact and give its produce as sadaqa.” So ‘Umar gave it as sadaqa declaring that property must not be sold or inherited or given away as gift. And ‘Umar devoted it to the poor, to the nearest kin, and to the emancipation of slaves, and in the way of Allah and guests. There is no sin for one who administers it if he eats something from it in a reasonable manner, or if he feeds his friends and does not hoard up goods (for himself). He (the narrator) said: I nar­rated this hadith to Muhammad, but as I reached the (words) “without hoarding (for himself) out of it”, He (Muhammad) said: “without storing the property with a view to becoming rich” – Ibn ‘Aun said: “He who read this book pertaining to waqf), informed me that in it (the words are) ‘without storing the property with a view to becoming rich.’”

2) ‘Umar b. Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) reported: I donated a pedigree horse in the path of Allah. It possessor made it languish. I thought that he would sell it at a cheap price. I asked Allah’s Messenger (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) about it, whereupon he said: “Don’t buy it and do not get back your charity, for one who gets back the charity is like a dog which swallows its vomit.” This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Malik b. Anas with the same chain of transmitters but with this addition: “Don’t buy that even if he gives you for one dirham.”

Source: Economic Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): A Select Anthology of Hadith Literature on Economics, Muhammad Akram Khan. Republished with permission.