There are millions of documents that have been passed down from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. An important aspect of thiss documentation is the waqf accounting records that have characterized the Ottoman civilization. In these records, the following important information about the waqf, whose accounting is made, is included; its name, founder, location, trustee, purpose, year of accounting, sources of income and total income, items of expense and total expense (mesârif and vezâîf), ands means of operating its money (if it were a cash waqf, this was the ribh rate it used; if it were a real estate waqf, its rental methods). In addition, the following was also included in the accounting records: if there were a budget surplus of the waqf, how this surplus was used; if there were a budget deficit, how this deficit was compensated; the reasons for the change in the trustee; to whom the funds of the waqf were given as loans; and to whom and for how much the real estate properties were rented. Therefore, it is possible to say that accounting records are of great importance in examining the financial structures of waqfs. Therefore, in this study, all income and expenses of the waqf have been analyzed by transferring the data to detailed tables, based on 45 annual accounting books for the period 1161 to 1225 Hijri, determined from the Üsküdar sharia registry books of the Çengelköy Fountains Cash Waqf in Üsküdar.

As a result of the analysis, it was determined that while mostly adding the waqf’s surpluses to the operating cash capital, the trustees invested in both real estate and the market boat. Finally, the cash capital of the waqf, which was 1,367 kuruş in 1161, increased to 8,061 kuruş in 1225, with the waqf also owning four caravansaries, one grapery, one bachelor’s room, one boathouse, and one market boat. As its name suggests, the waqf, which was initially established as a cash waqf and earned income only from the operation of the donated money, bought real estate with its surplus income and earned rental income from these sites, as well as built a boathouse and bought a market boat, earning income from the operation of this boat. When observing the Üsküdar cash waqfs of the 18th century, an exceptional situationis revealed: a waqf’s money was often neither operated by a method other than muamele-i şer’iyye and istighlāl contracts nor directed to this type of investment to generate income. From this point of view, all the income and expenses of the Çengelköy Fountains Cash Waqf from 1161 to the end of 1225 have been revealed in detail, and answers were sought to the following questions: What could have been the reason for the waqf established as a cash waqf to invest in a boathouse and boat? What was the ratio between the expenses made by the waqf for the boathouse and the boat business and the income from this business? If we compare this ratio with the cash capital and rental income rates, what will be the result? Did the waqf enter this business to generate income or to provide service? 

When the accounting records were examined, it was discoered that the waqf’s total income was 3,601,967 akçe over 45 years, while its total expenses were 3,100,512 akçe over that period. It can be seen that the waqf had been given a total budget surplus of 501,455 akçe over the examined period. The cash capital operation accounted for 73.33% of the income, with boat operations making up 21.01%, real estate rentals totaling 1.03%, and miscellaneous income coming to 4.6%. The fountains and waterways made up 37.48% of the expenses, with the market boat and boathouse making up 27.49%, duty payments equaling 14.39%, and other expenses coming to 11.98%. In the expense section of the forms, 8.67% was recorded under uncollectible murabaha. According to this, it can be seen that the waqf, which earned an annual average of 11% while operating cash capital, earned an average of 3% from its capital invested in real estate. Although it had earned income close to this rate in its last years from investment in the boat business, it is difficult to say that it generated profit in its first few years. As a result, the average income from the boat corresponds to 1%. As such, a logical question is raiseed as to why thw waqf continued to this business venutre, despite the low return of the boat business, as well as the many additional burdens for the trustee, such as maintenance, repair, and follow-up work. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the waqf entered this business for service rather than to generate income, that is, at the request of the people. In addition to this, considering the relatively low income from the investment made in the boat business, an attempt has been made by this study to provide some answers as to why the trustees of the waqf preferred such methods as muamele-i şer’iyye or istighlāl while operating waqf funds and did not resort to other alternative methods in addition to these, especially consideringed that the waqf in question was a cash waqf.