Discover the meaning of the term Al-wqf (وقف) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIn language: restraint; in the Law: the restraint of the body upon the waqif's ownership and the charity of its benefit, according to Abu Hanifa, for whom return is permitted; and according to the two others: the restraint of the body against alienation, with the charity of its benefit, so that the body passes to God Most High's ownership in some way. And waqf in recitation: the word's stop on what follows.
Masdar of waqafahu, that is, his restraint; he is thus waqif, and their waquf, and this one maq uf; it is also applied to naming the withheld by the masdar, the plural then made on al-awqaf; it governs by itself and does not govern; one says not 'I detained it (awqaftu-hu)' except in a detestable tongue, as in al-Maghrib.
In language: restraint; one says: 'I endowed the house for the poor (waqaftu ad-dara)', with lightening, or a waqaftu, detestable tongue; its sense: barring it from being sold, gifted or inherited; and the man's waqf: when he stood and forbade himself to advance and go; and waqaftu: that is, I stood firm in my place and abstained from walking; all without alef; Bashshar said: and we are on its banks, standing (quf uf), lowering the gaze like she-camels with young. It may be applied to naming the withheld by the masdar, the plural then made on al-awqaf. Technically: the Hanafis: the restraint of the body upon the waqif's ownership and the charity of its benefit, with the Imam; and according to the two others: its restraint upon the ruling of God Most High's ownership; mentioned by al-Maydani. The Malikis: ad-Dardir defined it: assigning the benefit of an owned thing, even for a price, or its devotion to an entitled one, by a formula binding a term, as the restrainer sees.
A man, with qu uf an: rose from his sitting. Rested after walking. Upon a thing: beheld it. The pilgrim at 'Arafat: witnessed its time. The house and the like: withheld it in God Most High's path. One says: detained for so-and-so, and for him. The people in the pilgrimage: halted at the stations. The beast: made it stop. The reciter: taught him the places of stopping. At-tawqif: the Legislator's text relating to some matters. At-tawqifi: what is related to tawqif. One says: the names of God are tawqifiyya. Al-mawqif: the place of standing, wherever it is (plural mawaqif). The woman: her hands, her eyes, and what has no substitute in revealing. Al-mawq uf: object noun. With the jurists: the withheld body, either upon the waqif's ownership, or upon God Most High's ownership (al-Mu'jam al-Wasit).
The restraint of the principal, and the freeing of the benefit; the word's stop on what follows.
In language: restraint.
In language: restraint; and by the Law: the restraint of the body upon the waqif's ownership and the charity of its benefit; and according to the two others: the restraint of the body upon God Most High's ownership, so the waqif's ownership passes to God Most High, and the benefit returns to the servants.