Intellectual Stagnation and Its Impact on Legal Texts Pertaining to Endowments: A Comparative Juristic Study.

Author

, Taif University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

This study, titled Intellectual Stagnation and Its Impact on Legal Texts Pertaining to Endowments, aims to highlight the potential of Islamic endowments (waqf) as a means of economic and social development within Muslim societies. It calls attention to the possibilities of integrating endowments into modern investment sectors—such as trade, industry, and various commercial enterprises—by moving beyond inherited juristic views in some legal schools that have historically treated waqf as static and inflexible. This rigidity has remained in place even as non-Islamic charitable foundations have advanced significantly, investing in diverse fields to generate profits while preserving their capital for long-term sustainability.
The study is structured into a preface, three main chapters, and a conclusion. The preface defines the concept of intellectual stagnation and the legal meaning of waqf. The first chapter addresses the permissibility of endowing movable assets; the second examines the ruling on endowing usufructs; and the third explores the legal status of endowing paper currency.
The research employs descriptive, analytical, inferential, and comparative methodologies. Among its principal findings is the affirmation that the endowment of movable property is valid, as is the endowment of usufruct, based on the dominant juristic opinion that such items fulfill the essential legal meaning of waqf and are considered wealth in their own right. The study also supports the permissibility of endowing paper money, since the underlying principle of preserving capital is fulfilled.
The study outlines a variety of lawful investment mechanisms for endowments, including muḍārabah (speculative partnership), property leasing, and capital participation in business ventures. It further affirms the permissibility of temporary endowments, following the Mālikī school, which allows for greater inclusion and flexibility in charitable giving. The research underscores the importance of reflection on legal causation and outcomes as a means of revitalizing juristic thinking, provided such renewal remains within the objectives of Sharīʿa and is free from personal inclinations.
The study concludes with a call to overcome intellectual rigidity in the field of endowment law and to reconsider related legal rulings in a manner that remains faithful to agreed-upon textual sources while also accommodating the evolving needs of contemporary legal and economic contexts.

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