Temporary Fiqh Issues in Cash Waqf The case of Waqf Sukuk
Omar Kachkar, Marwa Alfares, Ahmad HershRecently, the importance of waqf (endowment) has emerged with increasing global interest in sustainable development. The revival of cash waqf as one of the most important types of waqf, as well as the advent of new uses, have resulted in the formation of new Fiqh (juristic) difficulties. This is due to the flexibility and efficiency of cash waqf in mobilizing financial resources for Islamic countries’ economic and social development programs. This paper discusses the importance of the juristic issues arising from waqf sukuk (bonds). These issues are zakat, rahn (collateral), and the exchange of waqf sukuk. The paper concludes that zakat is not obligatory on permanent and temporary waqf sukuk, neither on the waqf founder (sukuk holder) nor on the beneficiaries. A distinction is made between debt and qard in regard to the obligation of zakat on the creditor in debt but not in qard. The exchange of sukuk sukuk is discussed in light of juristic disagreement in replacing the waqf asset, adopting permissibility within the Shariah guidelines and precautions. Finally, this paper adopts the impossibility of using waqf sukuk as collateral by the sukuk holder in order to safeguard the waqf asset. This study, on the other hand, waqf sukuk accepts the permissibility in analogy to the permissibility of mortgaging the debt for the benefit of a third party other than the debtor, by using the temporary waqf sukuk as collateral by the sukuk holder.
Para Vakıflarıyla İlgili Güncel Meseleler: Sukûk Vakfına İlişkin Bir İnceleme
Omar Kachkar, Marwa Alfares, Ahmad Hershİslam medeniyetinin önemli müesseselerinden olan vakfın önemi, son zamanlarda sürdürülebilir kalkınmaya artan küresel ilgi ile ortaya çıkmıştır. Günümüzde yeni vakıf uygulamaları meydana gelmiştir. Dolayısıyla hükümleri tartışılması gereken birçok yeni fıkhi mesele oluşmuştur. Bu uygulamalar içerisinde en önemli olanlardan biri, İslam ülkelerinde ekonomik ve sosyal kalkınma projeleri finansmanını toplamakta etkili bir araç olarak değerlendirilen sukûk vakıflarıdır. Bu araştırmanın önemi, hem kalıcı hem de geçici sukûk vakfıyla ilgili bazı şeri konuları ele almasından kaynaklanmaktadır. Bu çerçevede sukûk vakfının zekâtı, tedavülü ve rehnedilmesi konuları ele alınmıştır. Daimi ve geçici sukûk vakfında ne vakfedenin ne de vakıftan yararlananların zekâtla mükellef olmadıkları sonucuna varılmıştır. Ayrıca bu çalışmada; ilkinde alacaklının zekât yükümlülüğünün olması, ikincisinde ise zekât yükümlülüğünün olmaması açısından deyn ile karz-ı hasen arasında ayrım yapılmıştır. Tedavül konusu, temsil ettikleri borçlar açısından murabaha sukûkuna en yakın olan deynin satımı konusundaki fıkhî ihtilaflar ışığında tartışılmaktadır. Sonuç olarak sukûk vakfının tedavülü, şer’î kurallar ve yasaklar çerçevesinde -ki bunların hepsi geçici para vakfı sukûkunda bulunur- caiz olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Son olarak vakfedilen sukûkun vâkıf veya nâzir tarafından rehnedilerek kullanılması ele alınmıştır. Vakfedilen malların korunması amacıyla bu nâzır için caiz görülmemiştir. Sukûkun vâkıf tarafından rehin olarak kullanılması ise borcun borçlu dışındaki üçüncü bir şahıs tarafından rehnedilmesine kıyas edilerek caiz olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu makale, sukûk vakfının içtihat kurulları ve şer’î kurumlar tarafından incelenmesini ve bunlarla ilgili fıkhî meseleler etrafında gerekli kararların alınmasını tavsiye etmektedir.
قضايا فقهية معاصرة في وقف النقود دراسة حالة الصكوك الوقفية
Omar Kachkar, Marwa Alfares, Ahmad Hershبرزت أهمية الوقف اإلسالمي مؤخرا مع تزايد االهتمام العالمي بالتنمية المستدامة. وقد ظهرت تطبيقات جديدة للوقف، ونتج عن ذلك ظهور مسائل فقهية جديدة، يتحتم مناقشتها وبيان الحكم الشرعي فيها. ومن أهم تلك التطبيقات الصكوك الوقفية، التي يرى فيها كثيرون أداة فاعلة في حشد التمويل الالزم لمشاريع التنمية االقتصادية واالجتماعية في البلدان اإلسالمية. تنبع أهمية هذا البحث في تناوله لبعض المسائل الشرعية المتعلقة بالصكوك الوقفية بنوعيها الدائم والمؤقت، وتتمثل هذه المسائل بمسألة زكاة الصكوك الوقفية، وحكم تداولها، ورهنها. وتخلص الورقة إلى عدم وجوب الزكاة في الصكوك الوقفية الدائمة والمؤقتة ال على الواقف ّ وال على الموقوف عليهم. وتفرق هذه الورقة بين الدين والقرض الحسن من حيث وجوب الزكاة على الدائن في األول وعدم وجوبها في الثاني. وأما مسألة ّ التداول، فتناقشها هذه الورقة في ضوء الخالف الفقهي في مسألة بيع الد ّ ين وهي أقرب ما تكون إلى صكوك المرابحة من حيث ما تمثله من ديون، وترجح جواز ً تداول الصكوك الوقفية ضمن مراعاة الضوابط والمحاذير الشرعية، وهي بمجملها متحققة في صكوك وقف النقود المؤقتة. وأخيرا فيما يتعلق بمسألة استخدام ًا على األصول الموقوفة من الضياع، مع ًا من قبل الواقف أو الناظر، فالراجح عدم جواز رهن الصكوك الوقفية من قبل الناظر حفاظ الصكوك الموقوفة رهن ّ إمكانية رهنها بتحقق المصلحة، وإقرار صريح من المحكمة العليا كما نصت على ذلك بعض التشريعات القانونية في الدول اإلسالمية، وأما استخدام الصكوك ً ً ا من قبل الواقف، فالراجح الجواز قياس ّ ا على جواز رهن الدين من طرف ثالث غير المدين. وتوصي هذه الورقة بدراسة الصكوك الوقفية من قبل المجامع رهن الفقهية والمؤسسات الشرعية وإصدار القرارات الالزمة حول المسائل الفقهية المتعلقة بها.
With the growing global interest in sustainable development, the Islamic institution of waqf has gained a great deal of momentum as a substantial element for resource mobilization. In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim at ending poverty, protecting our planet, and allowing all people to enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. According to the index issued by the University of Cambridge in 2020, most members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are still at the bottom of the list in achieving sustainable development goals, because the severe shortage of financial resources constitutes a major obstacle to achieving SDGs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that meeting the SDGs in five priority areas—education, health, roads, electricity, and water and sanitation—by 2030 will require additional private and public annual spending of $528 billion for low- and lowermiddle-income countries, and $2.1 trillion for emerging countries (International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, 2019).
Waqf is one of the promising financial resources that can potentially contribute to achieving SDGs. Historically, waqf has played a major role throughout Islamic history, especially during the flourishing period of Islamic civilization, in providing many basic services to Islamic communities in several sectors, most notably, education, health, and infrastructure. Within the efforts of reviving the role of waqf and mobilizing it for SDGs, several new contemporary applications of the waqf have emerged. As a result, new fiqh (jurisprudential) issues have emerged too. These new issues must be discussed and the Shariah rulings must be clarified.
Among the most important contemporary applications of waqf is what is known as “waqf sukuk.” These are negotiable bonds or certificates of equal value representing the waqf donated in the form of money, and they are based on the waqf contract. Many scholars look at waqf sukuk as an effective tool in mobilizing the necessary funding for economic and social development projects in Islamic countries.
The importance of this research stems from its endeavor to analyze some Shariah issues related to waqf sukuk of both types: the sukuk based on the permanent waqf and those based on the temporary waqf. In view of the modern application of waqf sukuk, it was necessary to understand both types of sukuk from the Sharia point of view and to approach them in reference to the classical Sharia issues, such as zakat of waqf, Qard alHasan, trade of debt, and using waqf as collateral.
The researchers have referred to the classical fiqh books of the mainstream schools of thought in order to analyze the opinions of the jurists on the aforementioned issues. Additionally, reference has been made to the contemporary literature on these questions. This paper concludes that the payment of zakat is not obligatory neither in the case of permanent sukuk nor on temporary sukuk. Likewise, zakat is not obligatory neither on the waqf donors nor on the beneficiaries (mawquf alayhim). As for the issue of sukuk tradability, this paper discusses it in the light of the jurisprudential disagreement on the issue of debt sale, which is the closest question to murabaha sukuk as both receivables of debts. This paper is in favor of the permissibility of trading sukuk provided that the Shariah principles and conditions are taken into account.
Finally, in reference to the issue of using waqf sukuk by the waqif or the nazir (trustee), it is more likely that the waqf sukuk may not be mortgaged by the trustee in order to preserve the endowed assets from loss. However, it can be permissible to use them as collateral on the availability of an evident approval by the Supreme Court in the country. This is stipulated by some jurisdictions. As for the question of using waqf sukuk as collateral by the donor (waqif), it is permissible based on the analogy of the permissibility of using the debt as collateral. It should be stated that the opinions contained in this research paper are just conclusions resulting from the analysis of the classical and contemporary literature. It must be emphasized that these issues must be studied by jurisprudence academies and Shariah institutions, such that necessary resolutions and binding fatwas can be issued.