1

WAKF
Literalmeani ngoft hewor d waqfi s‘det ention’
.I nt he
languageofl aw,waqfmeansdet ent
ion ofapr opert
ysot hat
itsproduceori ncomemayal waysbeavai labl eforr el
igi
ous
orchar i
tablepur poses.Whenawai fiscr eated,t hepr operty
is detained or ,is‘tied up’foreverand t her eafterbecomes
non- t
ransf er
abl e.
.Ther ei s objectbehind maki ng a wakf .
OfficeofMut awalli(manager )isver yimpor t ant.Ther ear e
many modest o createwaqf .Thel aw ofwaqfi s“themost
impor tantbr anch ofMohammedan Law f ori ti sinterwoven
witht heent irereli
giousl i
feandsoci aleconomyofMusl ims.

MEANI
NG

When Musl i
m aper son whoi swor ki ngf orchar itable
purposeunderr eli
giousf ait
h andsomet imesf ort hebeneft
andupl i
ftmentoft hesoci ety,hasdonat ehi spr oper t
yi nt he
nameofAl l
ahi scal ledwaqf .Waqfl iter
al lymeans‘ det ention’
stoppageort yingup,meani ngt herebyt hatt heowner shipof
dedicated pr oper tyist aken away f rom t heper son maki ng
waqfandt r
ansf erredanddet ainedbyGod.Det ai l
sar egi ven
inoldt extsaboutwakfmadebypr ophet .I tisobser vedi nM
Kaz i
m vs A Asghar Al it hat t echni cal l
y, i t means a
dedicationofsomespeci fcpr opertyforapi ouspur pose.As
defned byMusl i
mj uri
stssuch asAbu Hani f
a,Wakfi st he
detention ofaspeci fct hingt hatisi nt heowner ship oft he
waqifor appr opriator,and t he devotion ofi ts proft s or
usufruct st o char it
y,t he poor ,or ot her good obj ect s,t o
accommodat el oan.WakfAct1954 defnesWakfas,“ Wakf
meanst heper manentdedi cationbyaper sonpr ofessingt he
Isl
am, of any movabl e or i mmovabl e pr opertyf or any
purpose r ecogni zed by Musl im Law as r el i
gious,pi ous,or
charitable.”
 2

ESSENTI
ALCONDI
TIONSFOR A VALI
D WAQF

Theessent
ialcondi
ti
onsf
oraval
idwaqfar
easf
oll
ow:

1. Per manent dedi cation: The dedi cat i

on of waqf
proper ty mustbe per manentand Wqi fhi msel fmust
divotofsuch pr operty and gave i tf or any pur pose
recogni zed by Musl im l aw, l i
ke r eli
gious, pi ous or
char i
tabl e.I ft he wakfi s made f or limited per i
od it
won’ tbe a val i
d wakfand al so ther e shoul d be no
condit ion or cont ingency at tached ot her wise it will
become i nvalid.The mot ive behind Wakfi s al
ways
reli
gious.
InKar nat akaboar dofwakf sv.Mohd.Nazeerahmad
,t he dedi cation ofhouse by a Musl i
m f oruse ofal l
traveler si rrespect ive ofr eli
gion and st atus was hel d
nott obeaWakfont hegr oundt hatunderMusl iml aw
aWakfshoul dhavear eli
giousmot iveandi tshouldbe
onlyf or beneft ofMusl im communi ty,and i fi tis
seculari n char act er,thechar it
yshoul dbet othepoor
alone.WhenaWakfi sconst ituted,i ti
spr esumedt hat
agi f
tofsomepr opertyhasbeenmadei nf avorofGod.
Thi si s ensur ed t hrough a l egal fct ion t hat waqf
proper tybecomest hepr opertyofGod.
2. Compet encyoft heWaqi f:WhoCanCr eat eaWaqf ?

The per son who const i

tutes the waqf of his
properti
esiscal l
edt he‘founderofwaqfor ,Waqif.The
waqifmust be a compet ent person at the t
ime of
dedicati
ngt hepr opertyi
nwaqf .Forbeingacompet ent
waqifa per son mustpossesst hecapacity,aswel las
the ri
ght to consti
tute the waqf
.
As regards capacity ofa Musl im formaki ng a waqf
,
thereareonl ytwor equir
ement s:

(
i) soundnessofmi
ndand,
(
ii
) majori
ty.
 3

A per
son ofunsound mi nd has no capacit
yt o
creat
e any waqfbecause he or she i sincapable of
knowing the legalconsequences ofthe transacti
on.
Waqfconstitut
edbyani nsaneormi norper
soni svoid.

Waqf by Non- Musl i

ms: The dedi cator must
professI sl
am i.e.
,believesint hepr inci
plesofI slam’
,
heneed notbeaMusl im byr eli
gion.TheMadr asand
NagpurHi gh Courtshavehel dt hatanon- Muslim can
alsocr eateaval i
d waqfpr ovi
ded t heobjectofwaqfi s
notagai nstt heprinci
plesofI slam.Pat na High Court
hasal sohel dthataval i
dwaqfmaybeconst i
tut
edbya
non-Musl im.However ,accordingt oPatnaHi gh Court
anon- Muslim waqfmayconst it
uteonl yapubl icwaqf;
anon- Muslim cannotcr eateanypr i
vatewaqf( e.g.an
Imambar a).

3. Rightt omakewaqf :Aper sonhavi ngthecapacitybut

no rightcannotconst itute a vali
d waqf.The subj ect
metterofwakfshoul d beowned bywaki fatt heti
me
when wakfi s made.Whet her a person has r i
ghtt o
constitutea waqfornotdependson t hef actwhether
the dedi cator has a l egal r i
ght to t ransf
er the
owner ship oft he proper t
y or not .A wi dow cannot
constituteanywaqfoft hepr opert
ywhi ch sheholdsin
li
eu of her unpai d dower because she i s not an
absoluteowneroft hatpr operty.

Wher e t he waqif i s, a par danashi

n l ady, the
benefciariesandthemut awal
lihavetopr ovet hatshe
had exercised her i
ndependentmi nd in const i
tut
ing
the waqfand had f ull
y under
stood the natureoft he
transacti
on.

Amount of property: a person can dedicat

e enti
re
proper
tybutin caseoft estamentarywakfmor ethan
onethirdofhi
spr opert
ycannotbededi cated.
 4

KI
NDSOFWAQF

Gener
all
yther
ear
etwot
ypesofwakf
:

1. Publi
cWakf
2. Pri
vateWakf

VALI
D OBJECTSOFWAKF

An essent i
al for t
he vali
dit
y of wakf ist hat the
dedicati
on should beforapur poserecogni
zed asrel
igi
ous,
piousorchar itable,underMusalman.On basi sofdecided
casesandt het extofeminentMohammedanJur ist
s,cer
tain
objectswhich hadbeen declar
edt obevalidobject
sofwakf
are:

1. Mosque and pr ovisi

ons f or I mamas t o conduct
wor ship.
2. Cel ebrati
ngt hebir t
hofAl iMur taz a
3. Repai rsofImambar as.
4. Mai ntenanceofKhankahs.
5. Readi ngt heKor an in publ icplacesandal soatpr ivat
e
houses.
6. Mai ntenanceofpoorr elat
ionsanddependant .
7. Paymentofmoneyt oFaki rs.
8. Gr antt oanI dgah.
9. Gr antt ot he coll
ege and pr ovisions f
orprofessorsto
teachi ncol l
eges.
10. BridgesandCar avanSar ais.
11. Dist ri
butionofal mst opoorper sons,andassistanceto
the poor t o enablet hem t o per f
orm pil
grimage to
Mecca.
 5

12. Keeping Taz ias i n the mont h of Moharram, and

provisions f or camel s and Dul dul for rel
igi
ous
processionsdur i
ngMohar ram.
13. Celebratingt hedeat h anniver
saryofthesett
lerandof
themember soft hefami l
y.
14. Performanceofcer emoniesknownasKadam Shar if
.
15. Theconst r
uct ion ofaCobatorf reeboardi
nghousef or
pil
gr i
msatMecca.
16. Performing the annualFat eha ofthe membersofhi s
family.
17. ADur gahororshr ineofaPi rwhichhaslongbeenhel d
i
nvener ati
onbyt hepubl ic.

The fol
lowi
ng ar
e not r
ecogni
zed as val
id obj
ect
s of
wakf
,byt heMusalmanl
aw.

1. Obj ects pr ohibi

ted by I slam, e. g. erecting or
mai ntainingachur chortempl e.
2. A wakff ort heper ai r
softhewaqi fssecularpropertyis
i
nval idaccor dingtoSheal aw.
3. Providingf ort herichexclusively.
4. Obj ectswhi char euncer t
ain.
5. A di rection to spend a cer tain sum of money f or
feasting Cut chiMemons ever y on the anniversar
y of
theanni versaryoft hesett
ler’sdeathi snotvalid.

CREATI
ONOFWAKF

Musl
im law does not pr
escr i
be any specifc way of
creat
ing a Wakf.Ifthe essentialel ements as descr
ibed
aboveareful
flled,aWakfiscr eated.Though itcan besaid
thataWakfisusuallycreat
edint hef oll
owingways–

1. By an actofa li
ving person (
int
er vivos)– when a
per
sondeclareshi
sdedicationofhi
spr opertyf
orWakf.
Thi
scanal sobedonewhi l
et hepersonisondeathbed
 6

(marjulmaut )
,inwhi chcase,hecannotdedi cat
emor e
than1/3ofhi spr opertyforWakf .
2. By wi ll– when a per son leaves a willi
n whi ch he
dedicates hi
s proper ty af
terhi s death.Earli
eritwas
thoughtt hatShi acannotcr eateWakfbywi llbutnow
ithasbeenappr oved.
3. By Usage – when a pr operty has been in use f or
charitabl
eorr eli
gi ouspur posef ortimeimmemor i
al,it
is deemed t o bel ong to Wakf . No declarat
ion i s
necessaryandWakfi sinferred.

LEGALCONSEQUENCESOFWAKF

Onceawakfi
scompl
ete,t
hef
oll
owi
ngar
etheconsequences
–

1. Dedi cation toGod –Thepr opertyvest sin God int he

senset hatnobody can cl aim owner shi p ofit
.In Md.
Ismai lvsThakurSabi rAl i,SC hel dt hateven i n wakf
alalaul ad,t hepr opertyi sdedi cated t o God and only
theusuf ructsareusedbyt hedescendant s.
2. Irrevocabl e–I n Indi a, a wakf once decl ared and
compl et
e,cannotber evoked.Thewaki fcannotgethi s
proper tybacki nhi snameori nanyot her ’sname.
3. Per manentorPer petual–Per petualityi san essent i
al
elementofwakf .Oncet hepr oper t
yi sgi ven t
owakf ,it
remai ns f orthe wakff orever .Wakfcannotbe ofa
speci fed t ime dur ation. In Mst Peer an vs Hafz
Mohammad,i twashel dbyAl lahbadHC t hatthewakf
ofahousebui l
ton al and leased forafxed t erm was
invalid.
4. Inal i
enabl e–Si nceWakfpr oper t
ybel ongst oGod,no
human bei ngcan al i
enat eitf orhi msel forany ot her
per son.I tcannotbesol dorgivenawayt oanybody.
5. Pious orchar it
abl e use – The usuf r ucts oft he wakf
proper ty can only be used f or pious and char i
table
pur pose.I tcanalsobeusedf ordescendant sincaseof
apr i
vatewakf .
 7

6. Exti
ncti
on oft he ri
ghtofwaki f–The waki floses al
l
ri
ghts, even tot he usufructs, of t
he pr operty. He
cannotclaim anybeneftsfrom t hatproper
ty.
7. Power of court’
si nspect
ion – The cour ts have t he
powertoi nspectthefuncti
oningormanagementoft he
wakfproper t
y.Misuseoft hepr opert
yofusuf ruct si
sa
cri
minalofenceasperWakfAct .
1995.

OFFI
CE OFMUTAWALLI

Mut awalliisnothingbutt hemanagerofawakf .Hei s

nott heownerorevenat rusteeoft hepr opert
y.Hei sonl ya
super intendentwhosej ob ist heseet hattheusuf ructsof
thepr oper tyar ebeingut i
li
zed f orval i
d purposeasdesi r
ed
byt hewaki f
.Hehast oseet hatt hei ntended benefciaries
areindeedget ti
ngt hebeneft s.Thus,heonl yhasal i
mi t
ed
controlovert he usufructs.I n Ahmad Ar i
fvs Weal th Tax
Commi ssi
oner ,SC heldt hata mut awallihas no powert o
sel
l, mor t
gage, or l ease wakf pr operty without pr ior
permi ssion oft he courtorunl ess t hatpoweri s explici
tly
providedt othemut awal liinwakf nama.

Whocan beamut awal l

i–A per son whoi samaj or,of
soundmi nd,andwhoi scapabl eofperformi
ngt hef unctions
ofthewakfasdesi red byt hewaki fcan beappoi nted asa
mutawalli
. A mal e or f emal e of any r el
igion can be
appoint
ed.Ifr el
igi
ousdut iesar eapar tofthewakf ,t hen a
femal
e ora non- musli
m cannotbe appoi nted.I n Shahar
BanovsAgaMohammad ,Pr ivyCounci lheldt hatt hereis
nolegalrestr
icti
ononawomanbecomi ngamut awalliifthe
duti
esoft hewakfdonoti nvolver el
igi
ousact i
vit
ies.

Who can appoi nta mut awall

i– Generall
y,the wakif
appoi
nts a mut awalli
.He can also appointhimselfas a
mutawalli
.I f a wakf i s cr
eated without appointi
ng a
mutawalli
,inI ndia,the wakfis consi
dered val
id and t
he
wakif becomes the fr st mutawalliin Sunni l aw but
 8

accor
dingtoShialaw,even t
hough t
hewakfr emai
nsvali
d,
ithastobeadminist
eredbythebenefci
ari
es.Thewakifal
so
hasthepowertolaydownther ul
estoappointamutawall
i

Power
sofamut awall
i–Beingthemanageroft
hewakf,he
i
sin char
ge ofthe usuf
ruct
s oft
he pr
opert
y.He has t
he
f
oll
owi
ngrights–

1. Hehast hepowert o ut i
lizet heusuf ructsashemay
deem fti nthebesti nter estoft hepur poseoft hewakf .
He can t ake allr easonabl e actions i n good faitht o
ensuret hatthei ntendedbenefci ariesar ebeneft edby
thewakf .Unl ikea t rust ee,hei snotan owneroft he
propertysohecannotsel lt hepr operty.However ,the
wakif may gi ve such r ight st o t he mut awalli by
expli
cit
lyment i
oningt hem i nwakf nama.
2. Hecan geta r ightt o sel lorbor row moneybyt aking
permission from the cour tupon appr opriat
e grounds
orifthereisanur gentnecessi ty.
3. Hei scompet entt ofl easui ttopr otectt heinterestsof
thewakf .
4. Hecan l easet hepr oper tyf oragr i
cul t
ur alpurposef or
lessthan threeyear sandf ornon- agr i
cul t
uralpur pose
for l
ess than one year .He can exceed t he term by
permissionoft hecour t.
5. He is ent i
tl
ed t or emuner ati
on as pr ovided by t he
wakif.Iftheremuner ationi st oosmal l
,hecanappl yto
thecour ttogetani ncr ease.

Removalofamut
awal
li–

General
ly, once a mutawallii
s duly appoi
nted, he
cannotberemoved byt hewakif.However
,amut awallican
beremovedinthef ol
lowingsi
tuati
ons–

1. Bycour
t–

1. i
fhemi
sappr
opr
iat
eswakfpr
oper
ty.
 9

2. Even af t
er having suffici ent funds, does not
repair wakf pr emi ses and wakf f all
s into
disrepai
r.
3. Knowi ngl
yori ntentionallycausesdamageorl oss
to wakf pr opert
y. I n Bi bi Sadique Fatima vs
Mahmood Hasan , SC hel d that using wakf
money t o buy pr opertyi n wife’
s name is such
breachoft rustasi ssufficientgroundforremoval
ofmut awalli
.
4. hebecomesi nsol
vent .

2. Bywakfboar d –Undersect i
on 64 ofWakfAct1995,
theWakfboar d can removemut awallifr
om hisoffice
undert heconditi
onsment ionedtherei
n.
3. By t he wakif – As per Abu Yusuf , whose view is
f
ol l
owedi nIndi
a,eveni ft
hewaki fhasnotr eser
vedt he
righttoremovet hemut awall
iinwakfdeed,hecanst il
l
removet hemut awall
i.