Mohamed Saladin Abdul Rasool

Potential of Micro-Waqf as an Inclusive Strategy for Development of a Nation☆

Abstract Waqf is an Islamic voluntary financing instrument which has significantly supported the development of economic and social order of Muslim community in the past. This prominent Muslim endowment mechanism was reported to have successfully created pools of fund and properties which were administered and managed by the appointed authorities (trustees) for the purpose of syariah compliance charitable activities. Despite of its proven capability and character in assisting the development of Muslim nation, today, waqf institutions are reported to have merely mild contribution particularly to the improvement of Muslim community in Malaysia. Based on scholarly reviews, several explanations and suggestions for improvement were discussed and offered to rectify the polemical situation. One of the issues highlighted was on the low level of understanding among the local Muslim on the concept of waqf. The main objective of the present paper is to propose a small scale waqf project named as “Mikro-Waqaf: PayungTeduhan Ilmu” (MWPTI). The aim of this innovative project is to rejuvenate waqf as well as to improve the awareness on the concept of waqf among Muslim community in an academic institution in Malaysia. The multi-purpose project is envisaged to spur the culture of waqf among the Muslim community surrounding the campus in Alor Gajah, Melaka, especially within the campus community and outside the campus.

Non-Monetary Poverty Measurement in Malaysia: A Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah Approach

Islamic organizations such as zakāt institutions conceptualize poverty from the monetary perspective to identify the poor group. Despite being the most common method of measuring poverty in Malaysia and many other countries, there are some drawback in the monetary approach. For instance, non-monetary factors such as type of dwelling, ownership of wealth and healthcare which reflect quality of life are not included. Thus, a more comprehensive poverty measurement is deemed appropriate to reflect poverty. The objective of the paper is to propose an Islamic poverty measurement, proxied by Islamic Poverty Index (IPI). The present study is a quantitative study consisting of three main stages. Firstly, consensus of scholars were sought in deciding the dimensions of the IPI and their indicators. Secondly, weightage determination of each of the dimensions and thirdly, cutoff points or thresholds were determined. The results of the study confirmed that there were five dimensions of IPI incorporating maqāṣid alSharīʿah principles with religion and physical self with the highest weighted dimensions followed by knowledge, offspring and wealth. In addition, thirteen variables were identified as the main components of the IPI. Thus, this empirical study was able to propose a non-monetary measurement that is envisaged to reflect the multidimensional phenomena of poverty in a more holistic way and is expected to have an impact on Islamic organizations as it given new perspective of measuring poverty.