“A person’s good deeds do not end with death but live on through acts such as teaching knowledge, providing water to communities, digging wells, planting fruit trees, building a mosque, leaving behind a copy of the Qur’an, and raising a child who prays to God for the forgiveness of his or her parents.”
The inscription carved on the wooden pulpit of the Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) in Divrigi, Turkey, built in the 13th century, embodies the philosophy of waqf as a form of charitable endowment whose benefits endure beyond death. Far from being merely ornamental, this inscription reflects a deeply entrenched waqf culture that has permeated Turkish society for centuries.
In Islamic tradition, waqf denotes the dedication of property by a donor for charitable purposes, subject to the condition that the physical asset remains inalienable while its benefits are utilised in the pursuit of closeness to God. Waqf property may neither be sold, inherited, or transferred. As both a religious and social institution, waqf has played a pivotal role in the development of Muslim societies, particularly in Turkey during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods, before being reconfigured within the modern republican framework.
The history of waqf in Turkey illustrates its evolution into a comprehensive social ecosystem. Waqf institutions financed mosques, madrasahs, hospitals, guesthouses, markets, bridges, water supply systems, public kitchens, and a wide range of urban facilities. Notably, waqf initiatives extended beyond the fulfilment of basic human needs to encompass animal welfare and environmental protection. Examples include the establishment of the “Lilac Waqf” in Izmir in 1189 to provide sustenance for birds, the “Pine Tree Waqf” in Istanbul in 1483, and specialised waqf foundations dedicated to the care of military horses during the 16th century. Collectively, these examples demonstrate how waqf functioned as a mechanism of social governance, contributing to urban stability, the redistribution of resources, and the consolidation of political legitimacy.
The involvement of Ottoman rulers in waqf development of waqf was particularly significant. Sultan Orhan Ghazi endowed an entire town, together with its revenues, to religious institutions for the benefit of the poor, Sufi communities, and travellers. This tradition was further consolidated by Sultan Mehmed II (Mehmed al-Fatih) following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque and its dedication as a charitable endowment, alongside the establishment of the Fatih Hospital, underscore the pivotal role of waqf in the provision of public services, including healthcare and medical education.
The institutional maturity of waqf reached its zenith in the 16th century under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent with the construction of the Süleymaniye Complex, designed by the renowned architect Mimar Sinan. This külliye integrated religious, educational, healthcare, and social welfare functions within a single, coordinated complex funded entirely through waqf revenues. The model illustrates that waqf operated as an “urban engine,” driving both sustainable physical development and social cohesion.
Women of the Ottoman royal household also played a significant role in waqf patronage. Haseki Hürrem Sultan, the wife of Sultan Suleiman, endowed villages, mills, bathhouses, and welfare complexes in Istanbul, Jerusalem, and other regions. Her foundations provided food for the poor, accommodation for pilgrims, and shelter for travellers, thereby underscoring waqf’s function as a transregional instrument of social welfare.
By the late 19th century, Sultan Abdul Hamid II had adapted the waqf concept to emerging social needs through the establishment of Darülaceze in Istanbul, an institution that provided care for the poor, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and orphans. On a broader scale, the Hijaz Railway project was financed through donations from Muslims across the Islamic world, functioning as a form of collective waqf designed to facilitate pilgrimage and reinforce Muslim unity.
Despite its historical success, the waqf institution experienced a period of decline during the 18th and 19th centuries, largely as a result of increasing administrative centralisation, particularly following the establishment of the Ministry of Waqf. This process weakened waqf autonomy and diminished managerial efficiency. Nevertheless, certain forms of waqf, most notably cash waqf, continued to function as effective financing instruments for education, healthcare, and social welfare, without imposing additional burdens on the state treasury.
Cash waqf is widely recognised as the most adaptable form of waqf in modern financial systems, owing to its inherent flexibility. Although its legitimacy was historically subject to debate within Islamic jurisprudence, both historical practice and juristic opinions indicate its broad acceptance across different schools of law and regions of the Muslim world. Contemporary scholars have therefore advocated the integration of cash waqf with Islamic financial instruments such as Mudarabah, alongside its professional managementthrough dedicated professional investment institutions. In Turkey, successful modern appliccations include Vehbi Koç Vakfı and Sabancı Vakfı, both of which operate through corporate investments and equity holdings.
Beyond cash waqf, Turkey has demonstrated a strong institutional commitment to waqf-based education. All private higher education institutions in Turkey are required to be established as waqf universities, reflecting the central role of waqf in the country’s educational framework. Today, dozens of such universities contribute substantially to human capital development and national economic growth. The Ilim Yayma Foundation, for instance, established the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, which stands as a successful and widely recognised model of waqf-based higher education.
In conclusion, Turkey’s experience demonstrates that waqf is not merely an individual act of piety, but a foundational pillar of sustainable social and economic governance. Its effectiveness is closely linked to institutional autonomy, professional management, and supportive public policy frameworks. Despite modern bureaucratic and legal challenges, the revival of waqf in the forms of cash waqf, corporate waqf, and educational waqf underscores its continued relevance as mechanism for economic development and social justice. This model offers valuable lessons for Muslim-majority countries, including Malaysia, in modernising waqf institutions to address present-day socio-economic challenges.
