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A waqf (Arabic: وقف, plural Arabic: اوقاف, awqāf; Turkish: vakıf) is an inalienable religious endowment in Islam, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. It is conceptually similar to the common law trust. This is a sub-article of fiqh and Law and economics. ... This is a sub-article of Islamic economical jurisprudence. ... In states ruled by Islamic law, jizya or jizyah (Arabic: جزْية; Ottoman Turkish cizye) is a per capita tax imposed on able bodied non-Muslim men of military age. ... In Sharia (Islamic Jurisprudence) from the arabic نصاب is the amount which savings or capital or product must exceed in order for the muslim owner to be obliged to give Zakat (Charity). ... Khums (خمس) is the Arabic word for One Fifth (1/5). ... This is a sub-article of Zakat, Infaq and Mustahabb. ... Bayt al-mal is an Arabic term that is translated as House of money. ... Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity that is consistent with Islamic law (Sharia) principles and guided by Islamic economics. ... Riba is the (Arabic: ربا ) term for intrest, the charging of which is forbidden by the Quran here, among other places: And that which you give in gift (loan) (to others), in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting to get a better one in return) from other... Murabaha is defined as a particular kind of sale, compliant with shariah, where the seller expressly mentions the cost he has incurred on the commodities to be sold and sells it to another person by adding some profit or mark-up thereon which is known to the buyer. ... Takaful - Islamic Insurance ==]] “The basic fundamentals underlying the Takaful concept are very similar to cooperative and mutual principles, to the extent that the cooperative and mutual model is one that is accepted under Islamic Law. ... Sukuk is the Arabic name for a financial certificate but can be seen as an Islamic equivalent of bond. ... This is a sub-article to Islamic economical jurisprudence and inheritance. ... Islamic politics is the profession of Muslim politicians. ... This is a sub-article to Islamic jurisprudence and Marriage. ... Islamic criminal jurisprudence is the Islamic criminal law. ... This is a sub-article to Islamic jurisprudence and etiquette. ... Islamic theological jurisprudence is the filed of Islamic jurisprudence specialized in theological issues. ... This is a sub-article to fiqh and Hygiene Hygiene in Islam is a prominent topic but one which non-Muslims are not very familiar with. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Awqaf were among the most important owners of property (movable as well as immovable) in the Islamic world until recent times, and remain significant. Their incomes support the upkeep of many mosques; in past times, charitable services such as hospitals and orphanages were often maintained by awqaf.

The practice of declaring property as waqf gained considerable currency due to the practice in many Muslim states of expropriating the properties of important persons, especially officials, when they died or were disgraced. By declaring his estate as waqf and his descendants as trustees, a rich man could provide an income for his surviving family.

The Muslim administrative body responsible for the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem is often referred to as "the waqf". The Temple Mount or Noble Sanctuary (Hebrew language: Har HaBayit, Arabic language: الحرم الشريف Al-Haram As-Sharif), is a hotly contested religious site in the old city of Jerusalem. ...

Most waqfs are created with an endowment of real estate property. But endowments of cash, hence cash waqfs, have also been permitted. Such waqfs were popular particulary in the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman jurists were not in agreement about the legality of these cash waqfs. While the SeyhulIslam Ebussuud Efendi supported them and gave a fatwa to that effect, some others did not. The result was the cash waqf controversy. The main objection pertained to the way the waqf funds were invested. But cash waqfs were supported by the Ottoman sultans, who considered them essential for the Islamization of South Eastern Europe.

The waqf revenue was not taxed; large portions of land in Egypt and the Ottoman empire were devoted to waqf and thus lay outside of the state’s control. The Ulama were the waqf trustees and assigned waqf revenues to their designated purposes. The net result was to introduce the concept of private ownership of land and to concentrate enormous holdings into the hands of a few families.

See also

• Islamic Law of waqf according to Five Islamic schools of jurisprudence
• Islamic Law According to Five schools of jurisprudence
• [Murat Cizakca, A History of Philanthropic Foundations: Islamic World From the Seventh Century to the Present, (Istanbul: Bogazici University Press, 2000).
• [Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, Second Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2002)]
• {Cleveland, William L. History of The Modern Middle East, Westview Press 2000}

External links

• Islamic law concerning waqf (Public Trust).[1]

• Encyclopaedia of the Orient article on waqf
• The Hoda Center in Gainesville, FL is also known (lovingly) as "The Waqf"
• Es Seyyid Osman Hulûsi Efendi Waqf in Darende, in Turkiye.

• Kuwait Awqaf Public Foundation[2]
• Waqfuna موقع " وقفنا "[3]