SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUES ON WAQFS?: POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS

Abstract

Waqfs, an age-long private led redistributive charitable financial instrument continues to be relevant in today’s wealth management and voluntaristics discourse. While some issues surrounding the amicable institution are largely clear, some issues albeit little, remain controversial or largely unresolved. It is these issues that this study attends to or addresses. In this article, the author tries to do some justice to the issue of family waqfs, the origins of waqfs, and also re-addresses some orientalist’s incursions or attacks on waqfs and tries to put an end to the controversies. These resolutions are pertinent and have far reaching implications in deeply understanding, developing, adopting and adapting the institution of waqfs to current civilizations. Adopting Islamic scriptural legal reasoning, documentary research as well as a qualitative approach, the author concludes that the institution of waqf has been around since time immemorial and that prophet Muhammed (PBUH) only be re-sanctioned it. The author further concludes that if properly viewed, family waqfs does not in any way infringe on the Islamic law of inheritance. Finally, the author concludes that the institution of waqfs is indeed a bonafide islamic institution sanctinoned in the received revealed scriptural legal sources in Islam and even according to logical prisms.