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Waqf
Arabic: waqf
In Islam, religious endowment, a property that secures revenues. The system of waqf is regulated by Sharia, Muslim law.
Revenues from a waqf may finance mosques, religious schools or religious institutions. Waqf is considered as a part of the mosque or the institution.
Waqfs were vital to the religious parts of the society before the establishment of modern states in the Muslim world. But even in the modern society are Waqfs important ways of financing the administration of mosques and religious schools. The institution of waqfs is described in the Sharia, but not to the same extent as many other regulations.
A waqfs would normally be arable land, farms or oases. To the waqf there are managers, and he is in charge of securing that all revenues ends up in the right pockets.
It is central to a waqf that it has a permanent nature, and plain money is in most cases not seen upon as waqf. Once a waqf is established, there are no possibilities for alterations of the contract. The only exceptions for this, is when some of the involved violates the contract or if the founder or manager secedes from Islam.
The Muslim part of the origin of the waqfs, is a bit obscure, and waqfs are seldom mentioned in the Sunna. There appears to have be a mixture of pre-Islamic and non-Islamic traditions. There have always been regional differences in the ways of regulating the waqfs.
To secure inheritance
While the benefits from a waqf can be pious and good, the actual establishment of the can have been everything but pious.
In Muslim societies, regulations on inheritance have represented a problem for rich families: properties have been considered as belonging only to its owner but not to his or her descendants. When the owner dies, the property would then be transferred to the ruler. But with waqf, rich families have established waqfs and had children put up as trustees.
The salary of the trustees has normally been about 10% of the revenues. Through the waqf, the descendants have been secured a part of the fortune.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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