Reza Babaei's Article 'Endowment from the Perspective of Ethics and Mysticism'

Endowment, before and beyond being a good and a benefit for others, transforms the endower and makes them receptive to spiritual attainments; for it liberates their soul from attachment and pours the rain of purification and detachment upon them. It also immortalizes their capital, which they have acquired at the cost of a lifetime, and breathes the spirit of liberality into them. Thus, endowment, alongside thousands of material, economic, social, cultural, and scientific benefits for all classes of society, has numerous effects on the level of spirituality and the ethical life of the community. This influence is direct and begins from the moment of the endower's intention and continues until the objective fruits of the endowment appear.

Introduction

Endowment has several dimensions and aspects: on the one hand, it is one of the pillars of religious economy and one of the wellsprings of spiritual life for a dynamic and progressive society. On the other hand, it is a way to preserve current or stagnant assets and capital; for endowment places the endower's capital under the umbrella of divine protection and creates greater incentives for its preservation and safeguarding.

In other words, endowment is a way to transform personal capital into public capital, whereby all members of the religious community—while making optimal use of it—become duty-bound to preserve and protect it, and this magnificent activity is realized within the structure of "trusteeship."

A historical and phenomenological view of endowment is another perspective that has attracted some endowment researchers, who have produced valuable works through this approach. In this view, the scales of history speak of a weighty and precious gem called endowment, which is the source of many cultural transformations and the formation of fateful structures.

There are other views and windows for endowment studies that have, more or less, been the focus of researchers and endowment scholars. The present writing endeavors to look at endowment from an ethical perspective and recount its spiritual and moral consequences. This perspective has always been before the eyes of the religious community and Muslims, and this writing does not claim to introduce a new or novel angle, but the author believes that, commensurate with the importance of this perspective and the emphasis of the Quran and narrations on this scope, endowment has not been viewed from this pleasant window; rather, the external waves of endowment have mostly attracted attention. In other words, endowment creates two kinds of waves:

One. Longitudinal or external waves;

Two. Deep or internal waves.

The present writing claims that the ethical and spiritual effects of endowment for the endower and their fellow beings are far more valuable than its economic or social consequences, even though they are less visible and less discussed. What follows is an examination of the ethical infrastructures of endowment based on Quranic and narrational teachings. Also, with the aid of religious rationality and human experience, many of the spiritual and ethical benefits of endowment can be identified and recorded, some of which are recalled and examined in this writing. The author's claim is that endowment, more than its external effects and economic benefits for society, has internal and ethical effects for the endower and their companions, and elevates them in such a way that perhaps the most arduous ascetic disciplines and the longest acts of worship may not have such an effect.

It is also worth recalling that endowment, from the perspective of ethics and mysticism, acquaints us with one of the most beautiful human behaviors in the struggle against moral vices. This perspective teaches that the greatest profit and benefit of endowment accrues to the endower; for it purifies their wealth and renders their soul worthy of the encounter.

It is hoped that the present essay may add a clear drop to the sea of Muslims' spiritual orientation and ethical centeredness; by the grace of God Almighty.

1—The Horizon of Endowment in Mystical Stations

In the lexicon of mystical stations and states, endowment (waqf) is considered a “fath”—that is, “the opening of the station of the heart and the manifestation of the heart’s purity”[1]—because wealth engenders constriction (qabḍ), and liberation from it is the source of spiritual opening (fath) and the soul’s lightness of being. For the mystics, “a blessing is only a blessing when it serves as a guide to the Bestower of blessings”[2]. They regarded the endower as a means for the expansion of divine blessings and saw endowment as a path to nearness to God. In the view of the mystics, gratitude for a blessing is better and more precious than the blessing itself; for the blessing does not bring anyone closer to Him, but gratitude for it brings about nearness:

Gratitude is the soul of the blessing, and the blessing is as the skin,

For gratitude brings you to the alley of the Friend.[3]

Endowment possesses this very same station and effect; for endowment, like gratitude, generates and creates nearness—unlike the blessing itself, which God does not withhold from friend or foe and the possession of which He has not made a spiritual station:

O Generous One, who from the treasury of the unseen

Provides sustenance to the Zoroastrian and the Christian,

How could You deprive Your friends,

You who look with favor upon Your enemies?![4]

The Almighty God is such that “the rain of His boundless mercy reaches all, and the tablecloth of His unstinting bounty is spread everywhere. He does not tear the veil of His servants’ honor for a flagrant sin, nor does He cut off the provision of His dependents for a reprehensible error”[5]. A God who withholds His blessing from no living creature and apportions sustenance to the bird in the air and the fish in the sea has appointed a spirit and soul for His infinite blessings, and has granted that only to the grateful and the charitable. A blessing is a sign of God’s All-Mercifulness (Raḥmāniyyah), but the success of gratitude and charity is the manifestation of His name, the Ever-Merciful (Raḥīm). Endowment, like gratitude, ensouls a blessing and brings about nearness.

The mystics cherished endowment not only because it opens the way and lends a helping hand to God’s servants, but they also saw it as a price and a pretext for drawing ever closer to the station of nearness. For this very reason, they made the use of endowments conditional upon many stipulations, so that the path of goodness might remain open and the motivation for goodness might increase. Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī, the author of ʿAwārif, after mentioning several points about endowment, enumerates its conditions and says, among other things:

And the condition is that the one residing in the khānaqāh, if he is able to spend his days in acts of obedience and worship, may partake of something from the proceeds of the khānaqāh’s endowments for food and clothing. But if he is occupied with laziness and idleness, it is not permissible to give him anything from the property of the khānaqāh.[6]

Thus, the mystics cherished endowment for two reasons:

First, because of its effect in severing material attachments and paving the way for detachment; and second, out of a motivation to serve creation, which they did not consider separate from worship of the Creator. Saʿdī, who was himself a product of the Niẓāmiyyas[7] and knew well the important role endowment played in establishing scholarly and mystical centers, said:

Worship is nothing but service to creation;

It is not by the rosary, the prayer rug, and the patched cloak.[8]

This view—that service to believers deepens faith and expands the human soul—called them to endow their wealth; as it is recorded in the biographies of many of them, such as Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Siyārī (4th century AH), that he endowed his house and home.[9]

Some of them, in addition to their own houses, also endowed the fruits of their labor to spiritual wayfarers, and at times even advised their disciples to endow their possessions.[10]

Endowment, from the perspective of service to creation, has great affinity with the nature of mysticism and Sufism; for they defined their path as “preferring others over oneself” and called it “self-sacrifice” (īthār). The station of self-sacrifice, which is among the stations of the wayfarers and the ranks of the gnostics, necessitates preferring others over oneself. This preference becomes concrete when the seeker makes his home the abode of fellow travelers and his wealth the capital of companions. Ibn Battuta, in his famous travelogue, while recounting his journey to Bukhara and his stay at a khānqāh, says: “Sayf al-Din Bakharzi was one of the great saints, and the khānqāh where we lodged was attributed to him. This large khānqāh has many endowments, which are used for feeding travelers”[11]. Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi also writes: “This group chose the khānqāh for this reason, so that travelers and strangers who go to cities and have no acquaintance or kinship might reside near them, to rest from the hardship of the road and the weariness of travel”[12].

The link between the tradition of endowment and the domain of Islamic mysticism and Sufism began with the allocation of endowments to ribāṭs and endured for centuries. Endowment was the primary economic support for places of worship and ascetic retreats. Indeed, the diversity and expansion of endowments made it possible to build dignified and lasting khānqāhs, takīyas, and zāwiyas, where groups of people of the heart could spend hours of their day and night in complete tranquility. The role of Islamic Sufi centers in the expansion and provision of scientific and cultural services to people of knowledge is undeniable, and thus endowment, which was the material and spiritual backbone of these centers, had a very significant impact on the process of scientific and cultural development in Islamic lands.[13]

The Mongol invasion of Iran in the 7th century AH (13th century CE) spread anxiety about the existing situation and created such a state that the decline of Islamic civilization was feared. Perhaps one of the important and rare factors in the reconstruction of the country and the restoration of the people’s morale was the tradition of endowment. Historians consider Islamic Sufism and its religious centers, all of which were among the blessings of endowment, to be an important factor in restoring hope to the people. In a period of Islamic civilization’s life, endowment assumed the role of a reviver and certainly holds a heavy debt upon religious culture and civilization. Endowment first brought prosperity to scientific and devotional centers such as khānqāhs and similar buildings, then aided ḥusayniyyas and religious takīyas, undertaking their construction or revival. Simultaneously, it made public services free or cheap and set the cycle of life in motion. Thus, in the darkest eras of this land’s history, endowment was present as a sign of hope and life, and a banner of resolve and vitality, and it opened the way. This lofty and enduring role still weighs upon the shoulders of endowment, and it is incumbent upon trustees and believers to dredge this sacred path and smooth the bed of society for its flow.

2_ The Price of a Lifetime

Wealth is acquired at the cost of wasting one’s life; and what is obtained at such an exorbitant and immense price deserves to be made eternal; and for the eternalization of wealth, there is no better way than endowment and charitable giving (al-bāqiyāt al-ṣāliḥāt, enduring righteous deeds). The Quran has expressed this truth in various tongues and statements, a brief report of which is as follows:

The Holy Quran rebukes the lovers of wealth and considers their end to be regret: “وَ تُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبّاً جَمّاً”[14]; “And you love wealth with an immense love.”

What are the consequences and effects of the love of wealth that God Almighty rebukes and deems unworthy in several verses of the Quran?

Wealth and property are obtained at the price of spending one’s lifetime. Therefore, when we spend our lives on accumulating riches and capital, we have gained a meager result at an exorbitant price. In other words, we give our most valuable and sacred possession to obtain wealth and capital. Can profit be imagined in this transaction? As Hafez says:

My precious life was spent on the beloved and wine

Wondering what may come to me from that, and what from this

Excess and the accumulation of wealth have other harms as well, perhaps the least of which is the wasting of one's life. In other words, one who gives his life to amass dirhams and dinars, the least harm he does is squandering his life and its precious seconds. The greater harm is allowing corruption and ruin into the house of the spirit and faith. In numerous traditions, the love of wealth and excessive hoarding is considered the enemy of faith and the human being's afterlife, which means eternal ruin and the blackening of the soul. It is narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "المالُ وَبالٌ عَلی صاحِبِه إلّا ما قُدِّم"[15]; Wealth is a burden upon its owner, except what is sent ahead.

The Imam (peace be upon him) considered wealth the ruin of the future, saying: That which ruins today also blackens the future.[16] Such traditions in condemnation of hoarding wealth are many, and of course, there are also traditions that praise the very possession of wealth and a comfortable life; including the famous tradition narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in which he said: "How good is righteous wealth in the hands of a righteous man"[17]. Rumi has versified and illustrated this tradition as follows:

مال را کـز بهـر دین باشی حَمول

نِعـم مـالٌ صالحٌ خواند آن رسول

آب در کشتی هلاک کشتی است

آب اندر زیر کشتی پُشتی است

چون که مال و ملک را از دل براند

زان سلیمان خویش جز مسکین نخواند

چیست دنیا از خدا غافل بُدن

نه قماش و خانه و فرزند و زن[18]

That is, just as water outside the ship is the ship's salvation, but inside it causes destruction, wealth too, as long as it has not penetrated the human heart, is a divine benefit; otherwise, it is a satanic trap.

In a similar tradition, the Noble Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) considered affluence and wealth the best aid to piety; meaning poverty and need are not only not requirements for piety, but self-sufficiency and prosperity make the practice of piety easier. In the words of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), affluence is mentioned as "نِعم ‌العونُ علی التقوی": "نعم العون علی تقوی الله الغنی"[19]; The best aid to divine piety is self-sufficiency.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that in many traditions, people have been forbidden from excess and hoarding wealth, and asceticism and piety have been recommended. In other words, religious traditions and Islamic culture, on the whole, have not greatly recommended hoarding wealth and amassing vast fortunes, and have deemed excess in accumulating wealth as reprehensible.

On the other hand, human beings have no choice but to work and strive. The traditions that encourage effort to acquire wealth are not few either[20]. Thus, both the acquisition of wealth is encouraged and aversion to it! How is it possible to reconcile these two states? Why have believers been advised both to engage in trade and to abstain from hoarding wealth and amassing fortunes? Is there a way to reconcile these seemingly contradictory recommendations?

Perhaps reconciling those recommendations, which appear incongruous and incompatible, is not difficult; because through many ways, the acquisition of wealth can be made a means for nearness to God and otherworldliness, among which is the solution of "endowment" and the like, which well manage to combine wealth and eschatological thinking. These solutions also have a Quranic and ethical basis. As follows:

In the Holy Quran, God says: «ما عِنْدَكُمْ ینْفَدُ وَ ما عِنْدَ اللّهِ باقٍ وَ لَنَجْزِینَّ الَّذِینَ صَبَرُوا أجْرَهُمْ بِأحْسَنِ ما كانوا یعْمَلونَ»[21]; meaning: That which is with you will be exhausted, and that which is with Allah is enduring; and We will surely pay those who were patient their reward according to the best of what they used to do.

In this verse, God says: What you acquire has no permanence or endurance. So why spend a life whose value is beyond calculation on a commodity that has no permanence? Does any rational person squander the infinite for the sake of limited and base matters?!

Endowment is a path that connects infinity to infinity. It is a way to receive the price of our life and to gain in proportion to what we have given. Endowment does not squander a person's work and life; in return for the expenditure of life, which has infinite value, it yields eternal profit.

Virtues such as endowment and charitable giving elevate the value of wealth to the level of the value of human life. One who leaves a portion of their wealth with God has honored the sublime value of their own life. However we amass wealth, we have paid a heavy cost for it, which is none other than our life, health, and the scant opportunities of living. For this heavy cost, whatever we gain, we have incurred a loss; unless we entrust a portion of it with God and have faith that "that which is with God is everlasting."

In other words, endowment is a path to escape eternal loss and ruin. Endowment is an instance of the righteous deed of which Surah Al-Asr speaks and considers the cause of human safety from loss: "By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience."[22]

The message of this noble Surah is that humankind is in loss, unless they turn to righteous deeds. Which righteous deed gives a fitting price for the precious life of a human being? That deed must possess the value of permanence and eternity, and God has said that whatever you entrust with Me, I will preserve for you until the Day of Reckoning. Endowment rescues a person's wealth from the danger of ruin and makes God its trustee.

In Surah Maryam as well, the message is conveyed that if you do not wish to squander your life and want to leave something of yourself behind, entrust the fruit of your life and your labor to God: "And enduring good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in outcome"[23]; ... and enduring good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in outcome.

Is not endowment one of the best ways to entrust one's wealth and soul to God? In this way, what has been obtained at the price of life (the most valuable capital of a human being) is not wasted, and this blessed method saves a person's life from the harm of futility and ruin.

In summary, wealth is obtained at the cost of the expenditure of life, and what is acquired at such a heavy and immense price deserves to be made eternal; and for the eternalization of wealth, there is no better way than endowment and charitable giving.

3_ Liberality

Jurists have defined endowment as "the immobilization of the principal and the freeing of the benefit."[24] That is, the confinement of the property in one place and the release of its usufruct for the public or a specific group. This definition of endowment speaks of permitting the benefit of the endowed property for the people, which necessitates setting it free for them; but in reality, one who wishes to free their wealth and entrust it to the believers must first detach themselves from it and become free. How can someone who is in bondage to their wealth separate themselves from it and place it at the disposal of the public?! Therefore, endowment is a path to liberality from everything that places a person in its chains and fetters.

Liberality is of two kinds: sometimes the preposition "from" follows the word freedom, and for example, we say: freedom from carnal desires, or freedom from position, or freedom from wealth. The second type is when the preposition "in" follows the word "freedom," and for example, we say: freedom in expression, or freedom in thought. Liberality of the first type is prior to any other kind of liberality. What benefit are external freedoms to someone who is in bondage to wealth and status? Freedom of the second type, without freedom of the first type, is not freedom but a burden and a cause of greater losses.

Endowment and any form of financial generosity provide the ground for "freedom from..." and through this, adorn the human spirit and soul with ethical nobilities. In the supererogatory devotions following the noon prayer, we recite: "O God, I seek refuge in You from wealth in which there is no benefit." Among Arabic proverbs, it is also said: "The best of your wealth is that which benefits you."

The highest benefit that wealth brings to a person is the spirit of liberality, and this benefit lies only in the sacrifice of wealth, not in its hoarding.

Endowment, charity, and the like bring the greatest benefit of wealth to its owner; for they raise him to a degree of detachment and liberality that is sometimes unattainable even through struggle and worship. The Generous Lord also states in the Holy Quran: Whatever you spend in charity, its benefit returns to you; meaning, in charity, it is the giver who profits: “Whatever good you spend is for yourselves”[25]. The import of this verse differs from that of the verses which promise a great reward for charity.[26] This verse says: the benefit of charity lies in the act itself, and of course a great reward will also follow.

There is a difference between that whose reward and repercussion will come in the future, and that which is itself considered the reward. Verse 272 of Surah Al-Baqarah states: Generosity and charity are beneficial first for you, and then for those who receive. Therefore, in charity, endowment, and the like themselves, there is a virtue that should not be overlooked. The author believes that the greatest benefit of charity for the giver is his detachment from the base dependencies of the world.

In a narration from the Noble Messenger of Islam (PBUH), we see a different definition of wealth. That noble Messenger (PBUH) says: True wealth is what you send ahead for your Hereafter, not what you leave behind for your heirs[27]. This statement means that real wealth, and what truly belongs to a person, are those assets and possessions that elevate a person and create virtue for him, not what causes a person’s downfall and provides the ground for vices.

4_ The Mirror of Karamat (Nobility/Generosity)

From the perspective of mysticism, the need of the noble for the beggars is greater and more beautiful than the need of the beggars for the noble; for what the needy take from a noble person is wealth, but the noble person, through helping the needy, attains the virtue of karamat (nobility/generosity). Thus, one takes bread and water from the other, and the other takes honor and faith; hence, endowment and the like, more than meeting the needs of the destitute, help the noble to actualize their nobility. As Ayatollah Hassanzadeh Amoli said: “The beggar cries ‘God, God,’ God cries ‘beggar, beggar’”[28]. That is: if the beggar calls upon God to give him bread, shelter, water, and health, God also calls upon the beggars so that through them, His blessed name “The Generous” (Al-Karim) may be reflected back in the mirror of their existence and poverty. Perhaps Hafez had this very meaning in mind in the following couplet when he said:

What if the beloved’s shadow fell upon the lover?

We were in need of him, he was longing for us.

Phenomena like endowment provide the ground for noble and magnanimous people to reveal their inner human and mystical potentials. If endowment is a means to respond to the public needs of society, it is also a way to distinguish great human beings from ordinary people. In fact, one who gives away their wealth and makes it available to the public has done two great things: firstly, they have met a need of the faith community; and secondly, they have brought one of the great human virtues to the fore. The second deed, if not more important than the first, is no less so.

Therefore, endowment elevates the endower to the degree of karamat and is a ladder for the endower’s ascent to the station of the noble. The ladder of endowment ultimately guides its beneficiaries to the roof of enjoying divine gifts and blessings, but the endower, by this same ladder, reaches the ascension of nobility and honor, which is far loftier and superior to the enjoyment of the material blessings of the world.

5_ The Proof of Sincerity (Ikhlas)

Few acts of worship or virtues can be named that are as immune from ostentation (riya) and adorned with sincerity (ikhlas) as endowment; for ostentation means making one’s deed seen, but the endower, after endowing their wealth, disappears from sight, and usually the benefit derived from their wealth occurs in their absence; thus, endowment is a decisive proof of the endower’s sincerity; especially since endowment is not contingent upon anyone’s direct entreaty. In other words, endowment is a form of giving whose source is not the direct solicitation and verbal request of the needy and those who come asking. The endower has helped and taken the hand of someone without that person asking him for help. As the poet says:

He gives no chance to express entreaty to the beggar

The ears of this group have not heard the voice of a beggar

In many traditions, anonymous benefactors have been honored and praised. The Infallible Imams (peace be upon them) have said in their virtue: We, the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him), do not wait for someone to make a request of us and then grant it. In the Rajabiyya supplications, we also read: "O You who gives to those who ask You and to those who do not ask You and to those who do not know You"[29]. The endower also helps those who have not made a request of him and do not know him at all; and this is the highest and strongest proof of sincerity.

6_ The Rain of Purification

The late Allameh Tabatabai (may God have mercy on him), commenting on the verse "Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase..."[30] (Take charity from the wealth of the believers, by which you cleanse them [from filth and impurity]), writes:

"Purification (tathir) means removing impurities from a thing so that its existence becomes clear and it becomes ready and prepared for growth, development, and the manifestation of its effects and blessings; and increase (tazkiya) means causing it to grow and granting it growth through the attachment of good things and the manifestation of blessings; like a tree whose pruning of excess branches and twigs increases its beauty, growth, and the quality of its fruits. Therefore, the combination of purification and increase in the verse is among the subtle expressions"[31].

According to a Prophetic tradition (peace be upon him): "The best inheritance a person leaves behind is three things: a righteous child who prays for him; an ongoing charity and enduring endowment (waqf) whose reward reaches him; and knowledge that is acted upon after him"[32]. Therefore, spending in charity, alms, and endowment, which in traditions are called enduring good deeds and ongoing charities, cause the purification and growth of the human soul and spirit. Helping one's fellow human beings, giving interest-free loans, cooperating with friends, helping the poor, supporting orphans, spending in charity, mutual assistance, and such charitable matters purify the soul more than any ascetic practice or act of worship and replace excesses with effusions.

In other words, it emerges from the aforementioned verse and the traditions related to it that endowment is one of the best ways for the purification of the self and inner cleansing; for two reasons: both because of the ascetic discipline involved in detachment from wealth, and because of the flourishing and growth that the elimination of financial and worldly excesses brings about for a person. Tazkiya literally means growth and flourishing. Charity and endowment, while removing excesses and pruning weeds, provide the ground for a person's spiritual growth, and thus, through inner refinement and spiritual cleansing, the ground for the flourishing of the human soul is prepared.

It is remarkable that endowment, in addition to purifying the endower, also refines society; because when the tradition of endowment becomes common and prevalent in a society, all people are, in a way, encouraged toward generosity, altruism, and munificence. In truth, endowment is an open and public invitation to people for altruism and kindness toward one another. It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Invite people to goodness and virtue through your actions: "Be callers of the people through your deeds, and do not be callers through your tongues"[33]. Therefore, the presence of the endower among the people is a living divine invitation to encourage people and believers toward goodness and virtue.

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Endnotes :

[1] See: Sajjadi, Dictionary of Mystical Terms, under the entry Waqf.

[2] Hujwiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 221.

[3] Rumi, Masnavi

[4] Saadi, Golestan, Preface, p. 1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Awarif al-Ma'arif, p. 56.

[7] Shafi'i religious schools from the fifth century onwards, whose most important financial source was endowments.

[8] Bustan.

[9] Jami, Nafahat al-Uns, p. 146.

[10] Awrad al-Ahbab, p. 35, Introduction.

[11] Ibn Battuta, Travelogue, vol. 1, p. 416.

[12] Awarif al-Ma'arif, p. 50.

[13] See: Abu Sa'id Ahmad ibn Salman, An Introduction to the Culture of Endowment, Endowments Organization Publications, p. 135.

[14] Surah Al-Fajr, verse 20.

[15] Uyun al-Hikam wa al-Mawa'iz, saying 1493.

[16] Ghurar al-Hikam, saying 1427.

[17] "How excellent is righteous wealth for the righteous man." (See: Foruzanfar, Ahadith-e Masnavi, University Press, p. 11)

[18] Masnavi, Book One.

[19] Ibid.

[20] See: Kanz al-Ummal, hadith 10516.

[21] Surah An-Nahl, verse 96.

[22] Surah Al-Asr.

[23] Surah Maryam, verse 76.

[24] See: Tahrir al-Wasilah, vol. 2, p. 62.

[25] Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 272.

[26] Such as verse 8 in Surah Al-Hadid.

[27] Muntakhab Mizan al-Hikmah, p. 568.

[28] Ayatollah Hassanzadeh Amoli, Divan of Poems, rhyme of the letter Dal.

[29] Mafatih al-Jinan, Supplications following the month of Rajab.

[30] Surah At-Tawbah, verse 103.

[31] Al-Mizan, vol. 9, p. 377.

[32] The text of the hadith: "When the son of Adam dies, his deeds come to an end except from three: a continuous charity, knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for his good." The author of Jami' al-Shatat writes: "Scholars say that continuous charity is endowment. And Shahid Awwal, in al-Durus, has considered endowment to be the very same as continuous charity."

[33] Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 2, p. 78.

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Endowment from the Perspective of Ethics and Mysticism

Author: Reza Babaei

Waqf Miras-e Javidan Quarterly | Autumn 2010 | No. 71 (14 pages – from 49 to 62)

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