Contemporary waqf: cash waqf and new forms

The classical waqf concerned real estate and durable objects. Its foundation is prophetic: Umar ibn al-Khattab acquired land at Khaybar and consulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who told him: "if you wish, hold back the principal and give its yield in charity"; Umar made that land a property that could not be sold, inherited or given as a gift (al-Bukhari 2772). The classical formula that sums up the regime kept by the jurists in the waqf sheets: "hold back the principal and let the fruit flow", frozen capital, dedicated yield. The modern era reintroduces the cash waqf: dedicating a sum of money whose returns, lawfully invested, fund the cause, the principal being preserved.

Cash waqf: the historical record

Abu Hanifa rejected the waqf of money; the majority of jurists accepted the waqf of movables at least in complement to real estate, under the condition of perpetuity (Mughni al-Muhtaj ; Bidayat al-Mujtahid). The Ottoman empire made the money waqf a massive institution from the 15th to the 18th century: capital invested, returns assigned to mosques, fountains and public kitchens, with the approval of the shaykh al-islam Ebussuud Efendi (16th century).

Contemporary academic positions

• International Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC): resolution No. 181, 19th session (Sharjah, April 2009), allows dedicating as waqf the shares of lawfully owned companies, sukuk, intellectual rights, benefits (manafi') and investment units, since these are properties recognised by the sharia; the waqf follows the general regime.
• AAOIFI: Shari'a Standard No. 33 "Waqf" (2004) recognised the waqf of money; Standard No. 60 "Waqf" (2023) replaces it and covers cash waqf and modern applications; it comes with a waqf governance standard and the accounting framework FAS 37 for waqf institutions.
• Digital rights: by analogy with the intellectual rights of resolution No. 181, the qualification follows the durable and transferable value of the right.

The temporary waqf

Among the Malikis and Ibn Surayj among the Shafi'ites, the time-limited waqf is lawful: the property remains waqf for the term and then reverts to the donor's ownership; in the other schools, perpetuity is required, and the conditional gift serves as a lawful alternative for modern foundations, as for the "temporary waqf" (a share of a property's returns for 10 years to a cause).

Practical note on contemporary waqf

The donor chooses: classic real-estate waqf, invested cash waqf (endowment) or waqf of securities, within the framework of the cited standards; verify the legal existence of the foundation, its nazar council and its annual report: modern transparency prolongs the probity of the classical nadir.