PILLARS OF WAQF

1) The Waqf giver (al-waqif). The donor is the person who withholds (blocks) the property, provided that the Waqf is disposable, that is to say the person should be competent to practice tasks depending on man’s sanity. The one who is free, matured (baligh), sane or fully responsible (‘aqil), sincere and legally entitled to the wealth when declaring the Waqf. A Waqif was required to be a living Muslim and the act of establishment to be registered with an Islamic court. In the nineteenth century, the right to establish Waqf was extended also to the members of other faiths.(Hanafi Law clearly allows non Muslims to create Waqf based on certain condition. A non Muslim is not allowed to make waqf of or for a mosque.( Awqaf Experiences in South Asia, By: Syed Khalid Rashid,p30)) The declaration must be made voluntarily and in good faith.
2) The wealth designated for the endowment (al-mawquf). Wealth to be declared must be physically tangible items such as a house or plot of land. Donor must legally own the declared wealth or property and it must be able to benefits the community and transferable. In principle Waqf is permanent and there must be a clause in it that perpetuate its objective, such as income of the Waqf must be given to my daughter and after her death to the poor and needy in a given area or town. The Malikites allows a temporary Waqf, and this is very wise of them . This may be the reason why in Malaysia temporary Waqf is allowed emphasizing “why not use what is available”. The use of the property also must be governed by Islamic law. It must also be owned by the waqif and must be a valuable property which is independent and well defined.(Interest obtained from conventional banks is not money you own because it came to your hands by invalid contract. Therefore you should rid yourself of it as soon as you can by giving it to the poor and needy, better through Islamic charitable Organizations. It is not "clean or pure" money to give to the local mosque for instance. You cannot make Waqf out of it because Waqf, according to Shari'ah, can only be created out of one’s owned money or assets. This is not considered Sadaqah for the same reason but you will be rewarded for you intention and action of keeping you money untainted by, or pure off interest)(Jewelry may be endowed for wearing or lending as they are properties similar to real estates.) The donated property should not be assigned to others; such as mortgage, debt guarantee or related to any other right to others. For example, a real estate designated as a mosque cannot be sold or disposed of in any manner what so ever, except for replacing it with another real estate that is better, more useful for a mosque. The only difference between Islamic Jurists in this regards is that while the majority allows substitution for better usefulness, some jurists, the Malikites do not permit any replacement, even if the area where the mosque is located becomes completely deserted by Muslims . In the Islamic Shari’ah, Waqf’s Trustee/manager has no power to liquidate it. The rules and conditions for substitution of a Waqf property, to another are to make it almost impossible to eliminate a Waqf or affect its perpetuity.
3) The recipient of the endowment (al-mawquf ‘alaih). It can be specific (assigned) recipient whether one person or more. . The unassigned can be an entity, such as the poor, Mujahedeen (warriors), mosques, hospitals, schools, preparing the dead for burial and Quran. The beneficiary party should meet two conditions: First: To be competent for ownership whether being assigned or unassigned. Second: The beneficiary should be charitable field or good deed not for sinful purposes Waqf for dhimmis are allowed, but not for non Muslims worshipping places.(Waqf may be granted for non-Muslims that are not in war status with Muslims as they are entitled to Sadaqah (alms).)
4) The legal statement of the endowment (al-sighah). ‘Aqad is understandable words or writings for any purpose of Waqf whether general Waqf or specific Waqf. It is compulsory to validate the Waqf. Sometimes an action to denote a Waqf as known to people, such as making one's house a mosque and permitting people to perform their prayers in it, or assigning a piece of land to be graveyards and allowing people to bury their dead in it also amounts to expression .(Imam Abu Yusuf considers the declaration by the waqif of his intention to create Waqf.,(Awqaf Experiences in South Aisa, Syed Khalid Rashid,p8) Sighah should not be time specific or conditional. Aqad statement is of two types:
Explicit statement (lafz sorih): A clear statement that entails one exact meaning only like “I give my house to be Waqf for the poor people”. Such as saying I (endowed, blocked, devoted, named), these are clear words that do not have any other meaning but Waqf. When a person says any of those words the Waqf shall be valid.
Implicit statement (lafz kinayah): Statements that have more than one meanings like “My property is a charity (sadaqah) to the poor people”.
THE WISDOM OF WAQF
 To express one’s submission and piety to Allah SWT
 To get close to Allah SWT
 To get a continuous charity in this and after life.
 Sharing benefits with Muslim community like building mosques and schools.
 To strengthen the unity of Ummah.
TYPES OF WAQF
Waqf is divided according to the area it was donated to. There are two types:
 Charity Waqf (Waqf Khairi): It is blocked for a charitable entity for a certain period of time. Then, the Waqf is converted to a certain person or persons, such as endowment of a piece of land for a hospital or school to be handed back later to the person and his children. It is divided into:
General – Wealth that can be used (as stated by the giver) for any legal activity that benefits the community. For instance, when a person endowed a piece of land for charity. In this type of endowment, Nazir Waqf (endowment ownership) has to govern the land in any form of development that could provide benefits without any ties to the types of charity or in the form of development itself. While the benefits should be given to the community in any form of charity so that the ownership will continuously gain rewards.
Special – Wealth specified by giver to be used for specific purposes and functions, e.g. land for mosque, school, cemetery, business centers, house, etc.
 Family or breed Waqf or Waqf Ahli: It is blocked for himself or a certain person and then transferred to a charitable body. It includes Waqf for immediate family members that include children, grand children, etc. Example; “I endowed all of my wealth to my son and grandson and to my entire heritage forever”.
Waqf regulations differ in differing Muslim societies and have also differed in history. In Ottoman times, there were two types of Waqf property. Private (Mulk) land could be donated to a permanent and inalienable trusteeship, a Waqf sahih. Miri land leased permanently from the Sultan on condition that it is worked could also be donated as Waqf with the permission of the Sultan. This type of Waqf was known as Waqf ghor shih and, though inalienable in theory, was sometimes sold in fact.
FORMS OF CHARITABLE WAQF
 Irsod Endowment: Not from legal owner but wealth which has been officially by authority or state to be used for construction of mosque, school, orphanage and public cemetery.
 Waqf of Shares: Shares and stocks that have designated for endowment by legal owner.
Shares which are Shari’ah-acceptably traded and its profits are then designated for Waqf. It comes from the revenue of shares.
 Combined Waqf (Waqf Musytarak): This is a Combination of several types of Waqf including one that is formed through binding protocol (istibdal) and Waqf shares.
 Waqf Musya’: There are four pillars of Waqf: Waqf of private possession that is collectively owned by more than one party that cannot be divided.
MUTAWALLI
If the Waqf donor prerequisites that he or someone else shall appoint the trustee, (if more than one chain of inheritors shall be defined) the will shall be kept .(It was narrated that Omar was the trustee of his sadaqah (Waqf) then named his daughter Hafsa as his successor throughout her life then the wise of her family.)
Mutawalli of Waqf should meet the following terms
 Islam: Trusteeship is a type of rule which cannot be entrusted to a non-Muslim
 Sanity: The Mutawalli should not be insane
 Maturity: The Mutawalli should not an enfant
 Good Manners: The Mutawalli should be pious who is honest, avoids major sins and has good manners
 Efficiency: The Mutawalli should be able to handle the properties he looks after. He must be observed that efficiency in managing the Waqf property is the important element in ensure the Waqf property is not wasted. This is especially important under today’s dynamic financial system which requires lot of expertise in managing funds. Mutawalli should be able to handle the properties he looks after.

The Mutawalli is required to do the best to preserve the Waqf and maintain its best interest. The Mutawalli’s tasks include the following:
 Maintenance of Waqf: The Mutawalli is responsible for maintaining and safeguarding the property from destruction and damage
 Meeting Waqf Terms: Those terms shall not to be violated or neglected
 Defending Waqf Rights: in court disputes to keep those rights
 Payment of Waqf debts: The debts are related to the revenues of Waqf not the assets. Payment of debts has a higher priority than spending on Waqf beneficiaries as delay of payment may result in the confiscation of its revenues.
 Fulfilling beneficiaries' rights without any delay except for necessities, such as the need for maintenance, repair or payment of debt.
Limitation of the Mutawalli
The Mutawalli shall not do some actions, so as not to harm the interests of Waqf, such as:
 Favouritism, in own favour like renting the property to himself or his son.
 Borrowing against the Waqf so as to pay the debt from the Waqf revenues except in case of necessities. Such an action may result in the deduction of the Waqf revenues for the debtors. He may only borrow with the permission of court.
 Mortgage of the Waqf property that may cause the loss of the bestowed property
 Lending the Waqf property except for the beneficiaries
 Residing in the Waqf property for free. He cannot transfer his duty or functions as well.
Mutawalli’s Remuneration
The Mutawalli is paid a salary that the Waqf donor assigned even if it exceeds what is given to similar persons. If the donor did not assigned a salary, the issue would be taken to court for the judge to decide a salary similar to his peers. Also if the donor assigns a lower salary than that given to his peers, the Mutawalli may refer to the judge to give him a similar salary.
Mutawalli transfers his duties to another person
If the he resigns, he may not transfer his duties to other without referring to the judge who shall appoint another person for that post. If the Waqf donor prerequisites the trusteeship to a certain person granting him the right to delegate such a right to others, it would be valid. The trusteeship will not be withdrawn as per this delegation, but the one he imposes shall be his agent.
Mutawalli Dismissal
The Mutawalli shall be dismissed if proved to be corrupted or if he loses competence. The judge may oust him even if the Waqf donor prerequisites his trusteeship. The judge, then, may appoint himself or any other person as Mutawalli. The trusteeship shall not be passed to the second person in Waqf donor's list as it is provided that the current Mutawalli shall lose his own trusteeship. If the Mutawalli regains competence he would be reassigned as Mutawalli if the donor had originally assigned him, or else he would not return.
WAQF ADDED AFTER DEATH
If the Waqf donor says "I hereby bequest this house for Waqf after my death", or "If I die this house will be Waqf", the Waqf will be valid as a will. In this case, it may not exceed one third of one's inheritance. The donor may withdraw this pledge but the Waqf may not be spent on an heir as the terms of Waqf would be valid (it may not be sold, granted or inherited). Waqf plays an important role in providing social and welfare security. It finances educational and welfare institutions (University of Azhar in Egypt is well known example which get support from Waqf.) It redistributes wealth in favour of poor and protects the wealth of Muslims nations by prohibiting sale and wasting by prodigals.