Singapore woman loses bid for share of income from grandfather’s Islamic charitable trusts

SINGAPORE, June 15 — A woman who sought a portion of income generated from Islamic charitable trusts created by her grandfather nearly a century ago has failed in her High Court challenge.

According to The Straits Times, the court ruled that the wakafs — charitable endowments established by the late merchant Ahna Mohamed Kassim Ally Mohamed — were irrevocable, and that his granddaughter, Fauziyah Mohd Ahbidin, was not entitled to vary their terms to claim a share of the proceeds.

Fauziyah, a kitchen helper in her late 60s, had sued the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) in 2019, arguing that her grandfather’s 1932 will entitled her father — and by extension, her — to two‑fifths of the net income from properties placed under the wakafs. The assets include land originally dedicated to Masjid Kassim and the adjacent Kubur Kassim burial ground.

A central question in the case was whether Kassim had been a follower of the Hanafi or Shafie school of Islamic jurisprudence. While Hanafi scholars hold differing views on whether a wakaf may be revoked, Shafie doctrine treats such dedications as permanently binding.

Justice Mohamed Faizal found that Kassim was Shafie, relying in part on a 1962 probate filing in which Kassim’s son — Fauziyah’s father — declared this under oath. The judge added that even if Kassim had been Hanafi, Singapore applies the majority Hanafi view, which also treats wakafs as irrevocable.

The court noted that Kassim had attempted, through his will, to reserve income for his son after the wakafs were created. But the judge held that diverting income away from the charitable purpose would effectively alter the wakaf, which the law does not permit.

The land originally endowed has since evolved to include Masjid Kassim, the East Bay Gardens condominium, and commercial units at Wisma Indah. MUIS’ latest annual report shows the Kassim wakaf fund holds accumulated assets of S$23 million (RM72.6 million), with a net surplus of S$1.26 million in 2024.

While acknowledging Fauziyah’s belief that her father had been deprived of what Kassim intended for him, the judge said the courts could not reshape settled legal principles based on sympathy.

Fauziyah has filed an appeal.