Sūrah Al-Ḥadīd The Iron: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAl-ḤadīdMedinanSpending in Allah's path and stewardship of wealth

Key Fiqh IssueWaqf charitable endowment: conditions of validity and permanenceSunnah muʾakkadah to establishMajor Islamic institution for perpetual charity

School ComparisonḤanafī: waqf valid; some early opinion discouraged it; requires perpetuity; Mālikī: waqf valid; can be temporary (ḥubs for life); Shāfiʿī: must be perpetual, immovable preferred; Ḥanbalī: strongly recommended; movable property waqf permittedValid and recommendedScope of permissible waqf assets differs significantly

Uṣūl PrincipleMaṣlaḥat al-ākhirah perpetual benefit for the afterlife as legal motivationDrives waqf validityPermanent charity outlasts the donor's life

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verse 7 "spend from what He has made you trustees of" the concept of stewardship (amāna) underlying waqf. The Muslim does not truly own wealth absolutely but holds it in trust; waqf formalize this by dedicating an asset permanently to charitable use. All four schools recognize waqf as valid and meritorious; the differences concern conditions of permanence and permissible asset types.

The Shāfiʿī and majority Ḥanbalī position requires waqf to be permanent the endowed asset cannot be reclaimed by the donor or their heirs. The Mālikī school permits ḥubs (life endowment) a temporary dedication for someone's lifetime, after which the asset returns to the owner or heirs. On movable property: the Ḥanbalī school permits waqf of movable items (books, weapons, money) based on prophetic precedents; the Shāfiʿī school prefers immovable property as more clearly permanent; the Ḥanafī school permits movable waqf for customarily endowed items.

آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَأَنفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ Āminū bi-llāhi wa-rasūlihi wa-anfiqū mimmā jaʿalakum mustakhlafīna fīh Meaning: "Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend from that in which He has made you trustees" Al-Qurṭubī: "mustakhlafīna" (trustees) is the key word wealth ownership is stewardship, not absolute ownership; waqf formalizes this theological principle into a legal institution; the command to spend grounds the meritorious nature of waqf.

مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا Man dha lladhī yuqriḍu llāha qarḍan ḥasanan Meaning: "Who is it that will loan Allah a goodly loan?" Al-Qurṭubī: charitable spending (sadaqah, waqf) is framed as a "loan to Allah" certain to be repaid multiplied; waqf that generates ongoing benefit for the community is the most powerful form of this loan since its reward continues after the donor's death (ṣadaqah jāriyah).

Waqf (charitable endowment) is valid and meritorious by consensus of all four schools a major Islamic institution for perpetual charity.
Shāfiʿī and majority Ḥanbalī: waqf must be permanent the asset cannot be reclaimed; immovable property (land, buildings) is preferred.
Mālikī school permits ḥubs (life endowment) a temporary dedication for someone's lifetime; this is the most flexible approach to waqf.
Ḥanbalī school permits waqf of movable property (books, weapons, tools, money) the most expansive approach to waqf assets.
The ṣadaqah jāriyah (ongoing charity) principle: waqf generates reward for the donor continuously after death among the three acts that do not stop at death per prophetic tradition.

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