Role of alWaqf in the Sustainable Development

Sustainable development that safeguards the interests of the ummah and its future generations is a key objective of contemporary Islamic society. This paper seeks to clarify the role that waqf (endowment) can play in achieving such development, as an institutional and financial framework that secures the conditions for human investment and provides the public goods necessary for social welfare.
The paper is structured into four main sections. The first discusses the concept of sustainable development, Islam’s position on it, and the challenges it faces under globalization. The second outlines the nature of waqf, its different forms, and its historical role in the development of Islamic society. The third section examines the investment dimension of waqf. The final section is devoted to studying the relationship between charitable waqf and public waqf, and their connection to sustainable development.
The study concludes that waqf can make significant contributions to sustainable development, particularly in areas such as human investment, social capital, and redistribution. It recommends enhancing the legislative and regulatory foundations governing charitable waqf. At the same time, it cautions against using calls to activate charitable waqf as a justification for the state to evade its Shariah obligations, to privatize public waqf, or to substitute charitable waqf in its place.
Keywords: Waqf, Sustainable Development, Social Capital, Redistribution, Islamic Economics