Short answer
Waqf is a charitable endowment: you set aside an asset, such as land, a building, a well or invested cash, so that it can never be sold, given away or inherited, and its use or income goes to a good cause for good. It is the classic form of sadaqah jariyah, charity whose reward continues after death.
Making a waqf is mustahabb. The Hanafi fatwa follows Abu Yusuf and Muhammad: once made, a waqf is binding, the asset leaves your ownership, and it cannot be taken back, sold or inherited. Zakat cannot be put into a waqf, because zakat must be owned by a poor person.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- A waqf may be made for a limited time, and the asset stays in the founder's ownership while its use is dedicated to the cause.
Explanation
The model for waqf is Umar ibn al-Khattab's land at Khaybar. He told the Prophet ﷺ it was the most precious property he had ever owned and asked what to do with it. The Prophet ﷺ said: if you wish, tie up its original and give its produce in charity. Umar did so on the condition that it would not be sold, given away or inherited, and its income went to the poor, relatives, travellers, guests and other good causes.
The main rules:
- It is permanent. In the Hanafi fatwa a completed waqf cannot be revoked. Imam Abu Hanifa himself held it was not binding in most cases, but his two students held it was, and the fatwa follows them.
- The asset is not used up. Land, buildings, wells, books and copies of the Quran are typical. Later Hanafi scholars also accepted a waqf of cash, invested and its profit spent on the cause.
- A trustee (mutawalli) manages it according to the founder's conditions.
- A masjid is a waqf once established, and stays a masjid.
Waqf and zakat do not mix. Zakat must be handed to eligible people as their own, so it cannot be locked into an endowment (see zakat and the masjid). Fund a waqf from your own wealth or voluntary sadaqah.
A waqf is a strong form of sadaqah jariyah: the Prophet ﷺ said a person's deeds end at death except for ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge and a righteous child who prays for him. You can also make a waqf on behalf of a parent who has died (see sadaqah for the dead). In Western countries a waqf is usually set up through a charitable trust, so take legal advice on the structure.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:92
لَن تَنَالُوا۟ ٱلْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِن شَىْءٍۢ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌۭ ﴿٩٢﴾
Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love. And whatever you spend - indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.
Companions made their most loved property waqf on hearing this verse.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2737
Sahih... إن شئت حبست أصلها وتصدقت بها ...
"If you wish, tie up its original and give its produce in charity."
The founding hadith of waqf.
Sahih Muslim 1631
Sahih... انقطع عنه عمله إلا من ثلاثة إلا من صدقة جارية ...
"When a person dies his deeds end except for three, one of them ongoing charity."
A waqf keeps earning reward after death.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Waqf. Abu Hanifa's view that a waqf is not binding in most cases, and the view of his two students that it is, which the fatwa follows.
- Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Waqf, on the waqf of movable property and cash. Later Hanafi acceptance of waqf of movables by custom, including cash.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Waqf. The Maliki allowance for a waqf for a set period.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.