Merging Waqf And Sukuk: Should We Or Shouldn’t We?

Abstract

Awqaf New Zealand, an Islamic NGO operating in New Zealand, recently identified sukuk as a tool to finance large awqaf farms to supply livestock and food for the pilgrimage and zakat al-fitr.2

Thus, we are witnessing here an attempt to merge waqf and sukuk, two important financial instruments of contemporary Islam. The purpose of this article is to examine this synthesis from both the Shariah and finance perspectives and suggest, instead, a better alternative – a synthesis of esham and waqf. But first, a brief explanation of the modus operandi of these three financial institutions need to be made.