WAQF MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION IN NEGERI SEMBILAN

The 2015 International Conference of Management Sciences ICoMS 2015, April 23, UMY, Indonesia | 151 the stocks of awqaf assets and hence the benefitsusufructs, will increase over time. However to realize its potential, awqaf institutions need to be supported by clear legislation, run and managed efficiently by professionals, and supported by adequate and sustained waqf funding. The focus of this paper is on the role of the State Islamic Religious Council Negeri Sembilan MAINS in terms of the management and administration of waqf in the State. Under Section 5 of the Wakaf Negeri Sembilan Enactment 2005, MAINS is the sole-trustee of awqaf assets in the State. This paper is structured as follows. A brief discussion on the fiqh of waqf is given after the Introduction section. This is followed by a discussion on the role of the State Islamic Religious Council Negeri Sembilan MAINS, Malaysia in enhancing waqf institution; and the final section gives the summary and conclusion.

2. FIQH OF WAQF

Waqf or awqaf plural is derived from the verb wa- qa-fa فقو. In terms of language, waqf means to stop نكسلا, to prevent عنملا and to hold سبحلا Wahbah Zuhaili, 1985. In Islamic terms, Waqf is an endowment of a portion of one’s wealth either in kind or as cash that is permanent and irrevocable the corpus is detained for the sole purpose to be close to Allah SWT taqarrub . Once the asset has been given out as a Waqf, the right of the endower waqif over the property ceases. The asset can no longer be subjected to sales transaction or bequeathed or given out as hibah or written as a wassiyyah. The original asset mauquf may be invested and the usufructs or returns will be distributed to the beneficiaries either for general or specific welfare as specified by the waqif. An asset that is endowed as Waqf may be in the form of fixedimmovable asset such as mosque, musolla, madrasah and land or movable asset such as cash and shares. Al-Quran and Sunnah have enjoinedencouraged Muslims to give out their property as charity in general or as Waqf. The following are some verses translations from the Al-Quran that encourage Muslims to give out some portion of their property in charity: “O you who believe Spend of the good things which you have legally earned, and of that which We have produced from the earth for you” Al-Baqarah: 267 In another verse: “By no means shall you attain Al-Birr piety, righteousness, unless you spend in Allah’s cause of that which you love. And whatever you spend is known to Allah” ‘Ali ‘Imran: 92. From the Sunnah: Ibn Umar reported : Umar acquired a land at Khaibar. He came to Allahs Apostle may peace be upon him and sought his advice in regard to it . He said : “Allahs Messenger, I have acquired land in Khaibar. I have never acquired property more valuable for me than this, so what do you command me to do with it?” Thereupon he Allahs Apostle said: “If you like, you may keep the corpus intact waqf and give its produce as Sadaqa”. So Umar gave it as Sadaqa declaring that property must not be sold or inherited or given away as gift. And Umar devoted it to the poor, to the nearest kin, and to the emancipation of slaves, aired in the way of Allah and guests. There is no sin for one, who administers it if he eats something from it in a reasonable manner, or if he feeds his friends and does not hoard up goods for himself . He the narrator said: I narrated this hadith to Muhammad, but as I reached the words without hoarding for himself out of it. he Muhammad said: without storing the property with a view to becoming rich. Ibn Aun said: He who read this book pertaining to Waqf informed me that in it the words are without storing the property with a view to becoming rich. Sahih Muslim, Book 013, Hadith no. 4006 Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger pbuh as saying: “When a m an dies, all his acts come to an end, but three; recurring charity, sadaqa jariya donation for the awqaf, or knowledge by which people benefit, or a pious offspring, who prays for him ” Sahih Muslim. The rewards for the good actions including waqf are continuous even after the person passes away.

3. WAQF MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION IN NEGERI SEMBILAN

The 2015 International Conference of Management Sciences ICoMS 2015, April 23, UMY, Indonesia | 152 Malaysia is in a unique position with respect to the administration of Islam in general and waqf in particular. The relevant laws in Malaysia that govern the waqf system are the Federal Constitution 1957, the National Land Code 1965 NLC, Negeri Sembilan Wakaf Enactment 2005 as well as the respective Administration of Islamic Law Enactments of the various states in the Federation Nur Asiah Mohamad et al., 2012. Waqf falls under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court according to List II of the Ninth Schedule to the Federal Constitution Syarifah Zubaidah Nuarrual Hilal. Under the Federal Constitution, the Islamic Religious Council of each state is vested with the power to govern waqf. The power is further spelt out in the Administration of Islamic Law Enactments of the respective states in Malaysia. There are 14 State Islamic Religious Councils SIRCs consisting of 13 states and 1 for Federal Territories. All SIRCs have similar aims: to make the administration of waqf more systematic and effective for the maslahah ummah Hassan Abdullah, 2008. Relevant laws enacted by the respective SRICs pertaining to the management of awqaf properties may be summarized as follows see Syed Othman Alhabshi, 1991: 1. The State Religious Islamic Council is the sole trustee of all waqf properties in the state. 2. All documents relevant to the waqf properties must be kept by the SRIC. 3. The SRIC must take the necessary steps to transfer the ownership of the waqf properties to itself. 4. All the returns from the specific waqf properties must be spentdistributed in accordance with the wishes of the waqifs. 5. All monies received from the general waqf properties must be kept in the general fund of the Council or the Baitulmal. The government of Malaysia has formed the Department for Zakat, Waqf and Hajj JAWHAR on the 27th March 2004 with the aim of making the administration systematic and effective. This department however does not have an authority to administer and manage waqf properties but rather plays a role as a planning coordinator and observes the waqf matter. JAWHAR formed the Malaysian Waqf Foundation Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia, a national waqf entity, on 23 July 2008 under the Akta Pemegang Amanah Pemerbadanan 1952. The main function of YWM is to identify underutilised waqf assets and to plan for their development in cooperation with the SRICs. Other functions of YWM are: to collect awqaf funds for the States; develop awqaf properties for the benefits of the Ummah; and to be involved in investment activities briefing given by the new CEO of YWM on 17 February 2015. MAINS has established the Negeri Sembilan Waqf Corporation PWNS on 10 June 2005 based on Section 8 of Enactment of Islamic Administration Negeri Sembilan 2003. PWNS is to carry out the provisions under the Negeri Sembilan Waqf Enactment 2005. The specific objectives of the establishment of PWNS are to revive the waqf culture among Muslims in the state, to ensure a more systematic and productive waqf management, to enhance stock of awqaf assets and to apply the corporate approach in waqf management especially with respect to capacity building and waqf funding for higher education. The PWNS started to operate fully in the year 2013 with the appointment of an Acting Manager, 1 executive and 5 trainee executives. Since its inception 29 applications for waqf land have been successfully registered with MAINS as the sole- trustee. 3 of the registered awqaf assets are houses endowed by individuals in Seremban and Port Dickson. The PWNS has offered a number of awqaf products for the public to participate in. RM199,730.09 has been collected as cash waqf since its introduction in 2011. The monies were collected through promotion and marketing jointly by MAINS, the Department of Islamic Religious Affairs Negeri Sembilan and the State Mufti Department. Cash waqf were also collected via Klinik Waqaf An-Nur Senawang, Baitulmal MAINS and the Negeri Sembilan Zakat Center. The PWNS also has introduced the Waqf Al-Quran Scheme in May 2014. 258 copies of Al-Quran valued at RM4,450.00 have been given out as waqf. The 2015 International Conference of Management Sciences ICoMS 2015, April 23, UMY, Indonesia | 153 4. PROJECTS UNDERTAKAN BY MAINS 4.1