Public Perception of Waqf in Malaysia by Raszlen Ramly

1. i
THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF WAQF IN MALAYSIA
By
RASZLEN BINTI RAMLY
Project Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Global Islamic Finance)
Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and University of Valencia
January 2015

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DECLARATION
The author hereby declares that this project paper is the original study undertaken by
her unless stated otherwise due to acknowledgement has been given to references
quoted in the bibliography. The views and analyses in this study are that of author’s,
based on the reference made; and this does not constitute an individual to use this study
as technical tool for investment.
Signature : Raszlen Ramly
Name : Raszlen Binti Ramly
Date : January 2015

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillah. All praises to Allah SWT for the strengths and his willing in giving me
the opportunity to complete this research paper as part of the requirement of the MBA.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regard
to my supervisor, Professor Datuk Seri Dr Md Zabid Abdul Rashid for his exemplary
guidance, valuable feedback and constant encouragement throughout the duration of the
project. His valuable suggestions were of immense help throughout my project work
and his perspective criticism kept me working to make this project in a much better
way, thank you for the extremely knowledgeable experience.
Deepest thanks and appreciation to my parents, family and friends for the endless love
and prayers, unconditionally support emotionally and physically throughout this journey
in completing the paper. To my parents; your wise words and unwavering belief had
brought me to where I am today – thank you for inspiring me to be excel in everything
that I do.
On top of that, my sincere gratitude goes to all lecturers in University of Valencia and
Universiti Tun Abdul Razak for their efforts in educating me in various areas for a very
short period of time. Not forgetting, Yayasan Tun Rahah (Yayasan Cemerlang) for
being very generous in sponsoring my studies in Valencia, Spain. To the administration
staff of Graduate Business School, Facultat de Economia and Yayasan Cemerlang,
thank you for your willingness in attending all my request and enquiries during my time
in Valencia and Kuala Lumpur, I am sincerely thankful. To those who have participated
in answering questionnaires, focus group interviews and anyone out there who directly
and indirectly contributed in this research, your cooperation and kindness means a lot to
me, thank you.
The tremendous amount of rides in completing this dissertation and the time spend
couldn’t have been less burdened and more bearable with the supports from various
people surrounds me, hence thank you for everything, only god can repay all the good
deeds of yours.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration………………………………………………………………………….ii
Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………. iii
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… v
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………….vii
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Waqf………………………………………………..3
1.1.2 Waqf Scenario in Malaysia…………………………………...5
1.2 Problem Statement………………………………………………….9
1.3 Research Objective………………………………………………… 10
1.3.1 Research Questions………………………………………....11
1.4 Importance of Studies……………………………………………… 12
1.5 Limitations………………………………………………………….13
CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Islamic Finance……………………………………………………..14
2.1.1 Shariah Compliant………………………………………….... 15
2.1.2 Shariah Parameters…………………………………………....19
2.2 Philanthropy………………………………………………………...21
2.3 Waqf………………………………………………………………...23
2.3.1 Cash Waqf………………………………………………….....23
2.4 Gaps and Issues……………………………………………………..28
2.5 Theoretical Framework / Conceptual Model……………………… 29
CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY
3.1 Data Collection Method…………………………………………….35
CHAPTER 4 – FINDINGS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Profile of Respondents……………………………………………...37
4.1.1 Profile of Respondents for Questionnaires…………………... 38
4.1.2 Profile of Respondents in Focus Group……………………....42
4.2 Practices in Philanthropic Activities………………………………..45
4.3 Perception towards Waqf…………………………………………...53
CHAPTER 5 - IMPLICATION
5.1 Recommendation………………………………………………....... 68
5.1.1 Marketing Waqf to the public………………………………...68
5.1.2 Role of Management………………………………………….69
5.1.3 The involvement of Waqf in the Economy…………………...70
CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSION
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 72
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….. 74
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………... 81

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Organizational structure of waqf institution in Malaysia…………………... 11
Figure 2: Three diverse aspect of waqf system……………………………………….. 13
Figure 3: Cash product model – public waqf…………………………………………. 14
Figure 4: Waqf share scheme…………………………………………………………. 29
Figure 5: Deposit cash deposit………………………………………………………... 31
Figure 6: Compulsory cash deposit…………………………………………………… 32
Figure 7: Corporate cash deposit……………………………………………………… 33
Figure 8: Cooperate cash waqf………………………………………………………... 34
Figure 9: Producer-Consumer-Beneficiary………………………………………….... 35
Figure 10: The research onion……………………………………………………….... 38
Figure 11: Gender - Profile of respondents of questionnaires………………………… 44
Figure 12: Age - Profile of respondents of questionnaires……………………………. 44
Figure 13: Ethnicity - Profile of respondents of questionnaires………………………. 45
Figure 14: Highest education level - Profile of respondents of questionnaires……….. 46
Figure 15: Employment - Profile of respondents of questionnaires…………………... 46
Figure 16: Income - Profile of respondents of questionnaires………………………... 47
Figure 17: Gender - Profile of respondents of focus group interview………………… 48
Figure 18: Age - Profile of respondents of focus group interview……………………. 48
Figure 19: Ethnicity - Profile of respondents of focus group interview………………. 49
Figure 20: Highest education level - Profile of respondents of focus group interview.. 49
Figure 21: Employment - Profile of respondents of focus group interview…………... 50
Figure 22: Income - Profile of respondents of focus group interview………………... 50
Figure 23: Sadaqah (donation) behavior ……………………………………………... 51
Figure 24: Frequency of sadaqah (donation)………………………………………….. 52
Figure 25: Types of sadaqah (donation)………………………………………………. 52
Figure 26: Distribution of cash sadaqah (donation)…………………………………... 53
Figure 27: Distribution of kind sadaqah (donation)………………………………...… 54
Figure 28: Factor in motivating sadaqah (donation) – good religious deeds………..... 55
Figure 29: Factor in motivating sadaqah (donation) – sharing extra income…………. 56
Figure 30: Awareness of waqf...………………………………………………………. 58
Figure 31: Waqf awareness level……………………………………………………... 59
Figure 32: Waqf knowledge channel………………………………………………….. 59
Figure 33: Mode of waqf…………………………………………………………….... 60
Figure 34: Willingness to subscribe to waqf………………………………………….. 60
Figure 35: Contribution channel likeness – mosque………………………………….. 61
Figure 36: Contribution channel likeness – religious school…………………………. 62
Figure 37: Contribution channel likeness – universities and colleges………………... 63
Figure 38: Contribution channel likeness – student’s hostel………………………...... 63
Figure 39: Contribution channel likeness – orphanages………………………………. 64
Figure 40: Contribution channel likeness – old folks home………………………..…. 65
Figure 41: Awareness of Yayasan Waqf Malaysia………………………………….... 69

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Figure 42: Waqf accountability model………………………………………………... 70

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Abstract of the project paper submitted to the Senate of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Business Administration
(Global Islamic Finance)
THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF WAQF IN MALAYSIA
By
RASZLEN BINTI RAMLY
September 2014
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer’s perceptions of waqf in
Malaysia. Further, this study examined the motivating and hindering factors in
subscribing to various waqf methods available in Malaysia. A literature search was done
based on available studies in Malaysia and abroad. A structured questionnaire was
developed to solicit information on the consumer’s attitudes and perceptions towards
waqf, and a focus group was also done to obtain the necessary information. A total of
200 respondents participated in the survey and 20 participants were involved in the
focus group. The results of the study showed that Malaysians are quite favorable
towards waqf and are willing to subscribe to various types of waqf. However, there are
many people who were not aware and know how to go about it. As such, much effort is
needed to enhance the consumer’s understanding of waqf and also the necessary social
marketing activities needed to enhance waqf subscription in Malaysia. The study also
proposed several implications towards improving the management of waqf in related
agencies/institutions so as to enhance the public subscriptions towards waqf.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Waqf has played an important role throughout Islamic history development from the
time of the Prophet SAW to the beginning of 19th
century. The first religious waqf was
established with the construction of Quba’ Mosque in Madinah, a city 400 kilometer
away from Makkah. This was built on the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad SAW in
622 A.D. During the reign of Caliph Umar, he introduced the concept of family waqf.
Since then, waqf has been seen to be a catalyst for the scientific and intellectual
development of Muslim’s civilization. Although the creation of waqf had existed way
before before the advent of Islam, nonetheless Islam has accepted and structured it into
its legal framework. According to Abu Zahrah (2007) stated, waqf existed before the
introduction of Islam. In the Quran,
‘The (true) believers are those only who believe in Allah SWT and his
messengers and afterward doubt not, but strive with their wealth and
their lives for the cause of Allah SWT’ (Surah Al Hujurat Verse 5)
This means that, waqf can be performed in many ways, although Muslims
conventionally gave waqf in the form of landed property/assets. Today. the scope of
Waqf has been widened and more Muslims are getting access to participate even though
they do not own any landed assets. Waqf can be executed provided that it is consistent
with Islamic laws and principles. According to Mohd Hanefah, the traditional mode of
financing such as long lease, modern schemes and self-financing has been used by the
religious authority to develop waqf provided that it is accordance with Shariah law.
(2009)
In Malaysia, with the support of government, individuals, public and private sector
Waqf has undergone through various innovations in its applications. It is believed that
waqf can play an important role in promoting growth in the Malaysian economy. This
view is supported by Mohd Hanefah (2009), he belief that waqf can help to improve the
economic welfare of the people in the country. Among the major initiatives that have
taken place to facilitate the development in Malaysia includes the establishment of the
department of Awqaf and Hajj (JAWHAR) in 2004 under the Prime Minister’s

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Department, Johor Corporation Berhad or known as Jcorp. Jcorp, for example initiated
the introduction of corporate waqf (Jcorp Annual Report, 2007) Further, different types
of waqf like waqf Bond, waqf shares, waqf takaful and cash waqf have been proposed
by Abdel Mohsin (2013)
As this type of philanthropic institution expanded in trying to achieve its main objective
of improving the socio-economic welfare (in the cause of Allah SWT) of the people in
the country, one major concern of Malaysians is related to the perception towards waqf.
In other words, for waqf to expand its practices, it is appropriate for us to know the
perception towards waqf an related philanthropic activities. In this study, four key
questions are being raised: (1) What are the consumers perception towards waqf? (2)
What are the factors motivating to subscribe waqf (3) What are the factors hindering the
waqf subscription and (4) What can we do in order to get more people to subscribe to
waqf?
It is essential to discover all the answers in order to stimulate more demand towards
waqf subscription. Thus, the current one could be improved accordingly appealing to
every level of the society and the development of waqf in Malaysia will continue to
grow.

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1.1 Background of Waqf
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment United Arab Emirates (2010)
has classified the word ‘Waqf’ as an Arabic word and the plural to ‘awqaf’, which
literally means ‘to stop’. As an instrument of benevolence, waqf is an act of locking up
property (cash or kind) in order to prevent them from being disposed or exploited. The
intention of locking it up is to provide a clear distinction between one who hold it in
trust and one who benefited by it. Waqf is meant to protect and preserve a property from
belonging to the intended party. Ibrahim and Ibrahim (2013) stated that most jurists
believe that it is a concept of holding, confining, detaining or restraining the proclaimed
property to be misused. The benefits are used to improve and contributed back to the
community in the cause of Allah SWT. As waqf occur, it is expected that the entrusted
party will distribute the benefits to the intended beneficiaries as specified by the donor
according to the Shariah principles. In the Quran,
‘By no means shall you attain Al Birr (piety, righteousness), unless you
spend (in Allah’s cause) of that which you love and whatever of good you
spend, Allah SWT knows it well and ‘those who spend their wealth (in
Allah SWT’s cause) by night and day, in secret and public, they shall have
their reward with their lord. On them, shall be no fear, nor shall they
grieve’ (Surah Al Imran Verse 92 and 274)
This means that sharing wealth with the public is a benevolent act that is encourage in
Islam. The waqf concept is also supported (and implemented) in various hadith.
Mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad SAW ‘whence a child of Adam dies, his/her
deed comes to an end except for three things, running and continuous sadaqah,
knowledge that benefits (others) and a righteous child who pray for him or her
(Mohamed Isa et al., 2011, p.560).According to Mohamed Isa et al. (2011, p.561) when
the caliph Umar Al Khattab went to the Prophet Muhammad SAW and said ‘Messenger
of Allah! I got a land in Khaibar. I never got a property more precious to me than this.
What do you advise me?’ The Prophet SAW said ‘If you want to make habs on
(bequest) it, and give it as sadaqah (charity) provided that it should not be sold, bought,
given as a gift or inherited’. Then, Umar gave it as a charity for the poor, relative,
slaves, wayfarers and guests. Subsequently the companion of Prophet Muhammad SAW

11. 4
declared their land as waqf. According to(Ibrahim and Ibrahim, 2013; Zahrah, 2007)
such act of behavior were reported by Thabit Bin Anas Jabir Bin Abdullah and Ibu
Hazm. Thus, Islam encourages the sharing of wealth for the benefit of community.
From the laymen perspectives, waqf involves the donation of both land and another
form of fixed asset. For many years, many Muslims understood that only fixed asset
could be donated as Waqf (interpreted in the Islamic law) where property must be
immovable as characterized by the need for Waqf to be perpetual. The concept appeared
to be appropriate as the new rulings on Waqf includes all movable properties such as
shares, books, cash and other beneficial items. Mohd Ramli and Abdullaah Jalil (2013,
p.4) stated that waqf could be divided to two categories, (i) ‘waqf kheyri’ or known as
general waqf solely for charities. For example a founder may gave away his land to
build a school in rural areas (for the use of ummah and charity purpose). (ii) ‘waqf khas’
or known as special waqf. For this type of waqf, a founder will specify the intended
beneficiaries and other related conditions that the founder wanted it to be included in
the waqf. This type of waqf is also known as waqf ahli or family waqf.
In order for waqf to be valid, Mohd Ramli and Abdullaah Jalil (2013, pp.4-5)has
explained that there are four parties that must exist - the founder (waqif), beneficiary
(maukuf alaihi), manager (mutawalli) and donated property (maukuf). Further, for waqf
to be legally binding the founder must be mature and have a sound mind. There is also
other characteristic that needs to be satisfied in order for the waqf agreement to be
binding. The founder must be mature and have a sound mind. His donation must be
owned property and based on his will. Moreover, founder needs to specify in the waqf
deed thatwho shall benefited from the declared waqf – beneficiaries can be individuals
or general philanthropy to the society. Finally, the waqf contribution must be
solemnized for it to be valid.

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1.1.2 Waqf Scenario in Malaysia
The State Islamic Religious Council of each state in Malaysia (with Sultans as the head
of religion in the state) has been given the power and trust to oversee and manage the
Waqf property, replacing the traditional way in the appointment of trusted individuals
by the founders. The current structure of Waqf Institution in Malaysia is as per Figure 1
below.
Register
Regulate
Monitor
Manage
Figure 1: Organizational Structure of Waqf Institution in
Malaysia
Source: Muhammad, 2010
1.1.2.1 The State Islamic Religious Council as a trustee
According to Muhammad (2010), before the state council became the lawful authority
(trustee) of waqf in Malaysia, anyone who donates his property will choose his own
manager (mutawalli) of the waqf property. Common mutawalli includes village leader,
trusted individuals and the mosque committees. Donations are often via verbal and no
written documents that support the property transfer between them. However,
observing the current situation, Ibrahim and Ibrahim (2013) projected, every state in
Malaysia is ruled by a Sultan and the Federal Government has given the full authority to
the power of Sultan to manage religious matters which includes zakat, baitulmal, waqf
and other. These matters are however, administered in each State Islamic Religious
Councils, chaired by the Sultan or the Yang di Pertuan Agong. In order to ensure the
Councils Advisory
Board
WAQF
Management
WAQF
Corporation
WAQF

13. 6
management of waqf properties and liabilities, each State Islamic Religious Council
acts as a ‘trustee’ to the waqf assets, thereby reducing potential interferences from state
or Federal Governments (Mohamed and Iman, 2006). The Sultan passed the power in
this subject matter to the State Islamic Religious Council in all respective state. This
supported by Mohammad and Iman’s view where fiqh opinions for management of
waqf should not have interference from the government as waqf properties are subjected
to liabilities which could leads to negative effect of waqf in the long run (2006).
Therefore, it explained why in Malaysia waqf management, State Islamic Religious
Council has been appointed as the trustee of waqf.
1.1.2.2 Yayasan Wakaf Malaysia
The establishment of Yayasan Wakaf Malaysia in 2008 has resulted in a national entity
in managing related waqf matters. According to Ibrahim and Ibrahim (2013) clarified,
although the Department of Waqf, Zakat and Haj (JAWHAR) manages the operations
of the coordination and monitoring of waqf properties, the Yayasan Wakaf Malaysia has
been instructed to work and in hand with JAWHAR and State Islamic Religious
Council in every state so as to maximize potential benefits of the waqf activities.
Further, according to Ibrahim and Ibrahim (2013), due to the lack of intervention and
structure of the governing system, Waqf properties in Malaysia are exposed to
mismanagement and corruption. Shakrani et al. (2013) examined the main concerns that
restrict proper implementation of waqf in economic planning in Malaysia. The main
concerns were; (i) the clarification on how to develop waqf according to scholars (ii)
legislation obstacles (iii) problems with Baitulmal administration. This proven by
cases where the property are not properly managed according to the intended
purposes of the donor (waqif) as well as the manager (mutawalli) being dishonest by
transferring the property to their name and use all the revenues and benefits for his own
good. Therefore, to fix the problems new dimension of Waqf structure has been re-
evaluated and revamp in order to suit the needs of public and improving the current
system in becoming more relevant, efficient and secure – which leads to the
appointment of the State Islamic Religious Councils as the official trustee of Waqf in
Malaysia.

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The revamping of it has lead to various development of Waqf in Malaysia. The most
distinct ones will be movable Waqf – cash and share Waqf as a new mechanism in line
with the contexts of Maqasid Al Shariah. Vejzagic and Smolo (2011, p.1) present
Maqasid Al-Shariah as principles that,
‘Applies to everything: laws, conduct, opinions, products, transactions,
activities, and services …….. facilitate the needs of human being, ensure
the wealth is circulated among asmany as possible in a fair way, avoid
dispute and ensure stability, promote maslahah and avoid harm, promote
transparency and accountability and uphold and promote justice in
acquiring wealth’
Cash waqf as an alternative to the land and property waqf, served a lot of potential
through proper management of it. Abdel Mohsin (2013, p.318) disclosed, ‘cash waqf
has been ascertained as one of the successful financial institution in financing different
goods and services for Muslims without depending on government’s budget’. It is more
constructive compared to the fixed assets and reckon to be lucrative in the modern
Islamic financial system practice. Many Muslims can easily participate in the
endowment as long as no shariah principles are violated. Figure 2 listed the general
three diverse aspect of waqf, where cash waqf fall under ‘object’ – movable waqf.
Figure 3 shows the cash waqf process, which involves investment of capital before
being distributed to welfare of society.
Figure 2: Three diverse aspect of Waqf system
Source: Chowdury et all, 2011

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Figure 3: Cash product model-public Waqf
Even though the debate on the movability of waqf properties are ongoing due to the
numerous contradiction between scholars (all over the world) on the Islamic principle
surrounding it, in Malaysia, Fatwa Committee Council has confirmed that cash waqf is
a form of movable one and allowed to be endowed (Chowdury et al., 2011). Besides
that, the movability of waqf system are highly supported by the practice by Ottoman
Kings who believed using the fund obtained from movable waqf properties for the
purpose of expanding Islam in Europe. (Chowdury et al., 2011; Cizakca, 2004, 2010).
Historically, the institution of waqf has accomplished its peak during the Ottoman
empire, through cash waqf it was able to render a diverse range of services,
education, religious, health and culture besides acting as the role financier in granting
loans to people who are in need (Cizacka, 2000)
1.2 Problem Statement
In the Muslim community, one of the most common charitable activities promoted is
the waqf. Prophet Muhammad SAW said: ‘the first thing for which the servant shall be
called to account in the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it was good all of his work
was good, if it was bad, then all of his work was bad, and if his duty is incomplete, then
Allah SWT, says check my worshipper’s voluntary work and take from it and complete
what is missed of his duty and so all of his duties will be like this’ Therefore, voluntary

16. 9
and good deeds complete the incomplete work, moreover, there is great reward for those
who perform them (Al-Aqil, 2008).
However, it may have been understood within the context of religious obligations. For
example, a typical Muslim may consider participating in waqf for the purpose of
establishing a simple prayer area or mosque – focused on the land and buildings.
However, the concept of waqf has been broadly redefined to include other social and
economic related activities, like supporting educational institutions, medical centers,
and accommodations for the needy and poor. (Osman et al., 2012) As such, the key
questions guiding this research are as follows:
a) What are the perceptions of Muslim consumers towards waqf?
b) Are they interested and willing to participate in waqf?
c) What are the reasons or factors motivating them to participate in waqf?
d) What are the reasons for not participating in waqf?
e) What are the perceived barriers towards subscribing waqf?
f) What institutional reforms or suggestions are needed to enhance the
subscriptions of waqf?
These questions are primarily important because it can help us to understand the
Muslim consumers perceptions towards waqf more importantly to review its role in
economic development in Malaysia and globally, in the long run.By exploring public’s
view and actions towards waqf in Malaysia we will be automatically directed to the way
we could improve the system and instrument to become more effective in providing
good outcomes to the beneficiaries. In order to expand the waqf practice and stimulate
the demand of waqf subscription, the current perception should be ‘appealing’ and
‘favorable’ to every level of the society. This not only ensure positive movement of the
waqf initiative enable the provider (of waqf) to leverage on the potential of waqf
development

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1.3 Research Objective
Based on the problem statement mentioned earlier, therefore it is the primary purpose of
this study to examine the consumers’ perceptions towards waqf in Malaysia. Since this
concept is very much related to the Islamic principles and values, it is appropriate to
focus primarily on Muslim consumers at this stage. This study is conducted as
exploratory studies on the public perception of waqf in Malaysia. The data collected and
outcomes of this study aimed to illustrate the current view of Malaysian’s public
towards waqf.
The research objectives of this study are:
1) To examine the consumers’ perceptions towards waqf in Malaysia,
2) To examine the consumers’ perceptions towards Philanthropy in Malaysia,
3) To identify the key factors motivating towards subscribing waqf,
4) To identify the key factors hindering consumers’ willingness to subscribe waqf,
5) To provide suggestions and recommendations to enhance waqf subscription in
Malaysia.

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1.3.1 Research Questions
Research Questions Research Objectives
What are the perceptions of Muslim
towards waqf?
To examine the consumers’
perceptions towards waqf in Malaysia
What are the perceptions of Muslim
towards philanthropy?
To examine the consumers’
perceptions towards Philanthropy in
Malaysia
What are the reasons or factors motivating
them to participate in waqf?
To identify the key factors motivating
towards subscribing waqf
What are the perceived barriers towards
subscribing waqf?
To identify the key factors hindering
consumers’ willingness to subscribe
waqf
What institutional reforms or suggestions
are needed to enhance the subscriptions of
waqf?
To provide suggestions and
recommendations to enhance waqf
subscription in Malaysia

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1.4 Importance of Studies
The recent enthusiasm in waqf innovation in Malaysia indicates the increasing demand
of general public, government and private sectors to be involved in the system. It is
crucially important for the developers of waqf to know what is the need of the founder
(waqif) in order to trigger the interest of the founder to subscribe to waqf.
Consequently, consumers also (potential founders) need to pay attention on the current
development as well as taking initiative in building some knowledge in the area of
modern waqf. Hence, through the exploration of consumer’s perception of waqf in
Malaysia we could discover and benchmark on which level of understanding does our
community belong in? Reger and Mullane (pp.569, 1994) argued, that the best
implementation is accomplished through a series of changes that involved superficial
level of understanding. In this case, the more understanding that general public has in
regards to waqf (traditional and modern) the greater the awareness towards the benefits
of philanthropic work through waqf which is not only to help the poor and needy people
in the world but also provided good deeds in the hereafter.
Furthermore, the insights of consumer’s perception and philanthropic behavior in our
society could be observed in this research studies in order to get better understanding of
how our society react to the act of giving? Then perhaps we could further leverage on
this positive habits that our society has according to their demands, attitudes and
preference. As per rule of thumb, if a person is used to ‘giving’, by consciously
knowing that certain types of giving provide a long lasting benefits (in the world and
hereafter), it is fair to conclude the person will be more than happy to give/share his
property to the ones that will provide endless gain compared to the one that is not.
The emergence of this research could assist waqf institutions (providers) to recognize
what is the issue interrupting the waqf to be accessible for subscription. Despite the
rigorous introduction of new waqf instruments in the market, subscription rate of waqf
in Malaysia remain small. There arestill gaps that need to be addressed. Through this
research disclosure, it is expected that managers of waqf institution will be able to
evaluate the current waqf instrument and understood the factors in order to enhance
great interest in waqf by the general public and community at large.

20. 13
In addition, while everyone is focusing on Malaysia as a hub and leader in the industry
(Islamic Finance) it will be a great initiative to improve on our current waqf instrument
and aim to become a good role model for other Islamic countries in the world. By doing
so, Inshallah with Allah SWT willing hopefully we will get to share knowledge in
improving our standard of living in becoming a better ummah. At the end of this
research, readers could clearly realize how perceptions and behavior play an importance
role in motivating the Waqf subscription and how the general public, government and
private sector could play more important role not only in creating more innovative waqf
offerings.
1.5 Limitations
In the process of completing this research paper, there were a few limitations. Firstly,
being given a short period of time to have a proper data collection method has been one
of the biggest challenge as respondents are expected to be diversified in terms of age,
education background and professions in order to get the hook of ‘overall’ Malaysian
consumers. Though the number of respondents interviewed (200 respondents) are not
large enough to conclude the overall perceptions and views of the approximately 15
millions Malaysian Muslims,(Malaysia Demographic Profile, 2014) it gives us a brief
overview to the perceptionstowards Waqf. This is due to the sample are not distributed
equally to the rural areas in the country. Therefore, it skewed towards the general public
living in mostly central area. In this study, the author has taken the action to combine
both, questionnaires (for general public) and focus group interview (for industry
experts) method in incorporating all the detailed findings.Besides that, this study does
not includes (into count) of the other challenges that Malaysia has is facing in reality.
Issue such as lack of capital and talent in Waqf institution also could have impacted the
understanding of Waqf and the factor in motivating and hindering the participation in
waqf.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Islamic Finance
Islamic finance follow the rule of the Quran and sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
SAW where it incorporate profit and loss sharing and interest bearing element in all of
its transactions and applications. Moreover, activities such as speculation, inequality
wealth distribution, gambling and taking interest (Riba) are strictly prohibited in this
concept. In addition, Islamic Finance makes it compulsory for zakat as a compulsory
obligation to ascertain equal distribution of income and social justice among the
ummah. Indirectly, this decreases the demand of borrowings among the poor and needy
(Iqbal and Mirakhor, 2007, pp.69-74). As there is no presence application of debt and
inflation n distribution of wealth, investment is solely based on equity financing. As
such Islamic Finance is insusceptible to financial crisis, inflation and factor in price
alterations.
Islamic Finance according to Iqbal and Mirakhor (2007, pp.15-27) provides a holistic
set of principles which ones can conduct financial affairs. Its overall aim could be seen
to satisfy the following key objectives: (1) transparency - all parties must aware and
made aware of what they are entering into (2) social responsibility - industry that has
been prohibited includes those who are not socially responsible with their actions and
activities, which have a direct or indirect negative social impact (3) financing real
economy - all transaction must be underpinned with real assets and (4) curbing
speculation – all principles seek to curb the speculation in the economic / financial area.

22. 15
2.1.1 Shariah Compliant
Islamic Finance are simplify as a financial transaction that comply with shariah or better
known as Islamic law. Cited in the Quran and rendered by Prophet Muhammad SAW,
shariah is a set of rule and practice that guide the social, political, cultural and
economical aspect of Islamic societies (White and Trevis, 2013). Shariah or Islamic
Law is derived from four sources – (1) Quran – the holly book in Islam which literally
comes from Allah SWT (2) Sunnah – the sayings, action and approval of Prophet
Muhammad SAW (3) Ijma’ – consensus that has been reach by particular issue by
Islamic Scholars through history (4) Qiyas - analogy The scholars have been utilizing
all this sources (through their interpretation) in order to create a framework of Islamic
Law collectively known as the shariah (Iqbal and Mirakhor, 2007, pp.13-15).
Shariah became the practical aspect of Muslim’s life, which concerns over all types of
action by a Muslim revealing his belief and faith. shariah is divided to two categories,
which are muamalat and Ibadat. Ibadat suggest relationship between Allah SWT and
mankind whereas muamalat highlight the interaction between mankind and another
mankind. Kettle (2009, p.35) stated large portion of mualamat is represented by the
conduct of Muslim in economic activities within the economic system where financial
and banking transactions were conducted based on the shariah principles. It is merely a
guidance to run activities parallel to the teaching of Islam as well as used by the shariah
scholars to determine the validity of shariah compliant products of financial services in
the industry.
Islamic Finance basic principles are based on shariah that stated all contract are deemed
to be permissible assuming no shariah principle has been violated (Iqbal and Mirakhor,
2007, p.12) Therefore, shariah contacts are not restricted to any specific forms of
contract to be followed. It is demonstrated through Prophet Muhammad SAW who
either approve the practices which has been practice in the society that was prevailing to
his lifetime or inserted circumstances that may changes the contract by adapting or
adding additional conditions. A fundamental concept of shariah is the idea that any
arrangement that leads to prohibited practices is also prohibited. Overall, we could
conclude, the principle focus on identifying the practice that should be avoided rather
prescribing exactly what should be done in the Islamic Finance concept. Based on Rosly

23. 16
(2010), Shariah principles often used to transmit full compliance over Islamic Law in
the financial transactions. Therefore, the sources of shariah should be frequently cited as
problems regarding to it arise in maintaining excellent credibility of shariah-complaint
products.
Following the Quran, the principles of shariah concern with four aspect of prohibition:
• Interest (Riba)
• Gambling (Maysir)
• Uncertainty (Gharar)
• Impure Commodities
In addition, White and Trevis (2003) have summarized the shariah principles as below:
• Prohibition of interest
• Prohibition of speculation
• Prohibition of making money through money
• Profit and loss sharing concept
• Investment must support permissible (Halal) activities
Riba is perhaps been the most well known and interpreted in the Islamic Finance.
Although it has widely been interpreted as usury or interest however, it actually refers to
any stipulated increase over in a loan or debt transaction - any payment that is linked to
the duration of the transaction (Iqbal and Mirakhor, 2007, p.73). Allah has command in
Surah An-Nisa,
‘And for practicing usury (interest), which was forbidden, and for
consuming the people’s money illicitly, we have prepared for the
disbelievers among them painful retribution’ 4:161
As for Gharar or interpreted as uncertainty represent another key of prohibition in
Islamic Finance, it has a broad meaning and application underlying the concept – it can
be viewed as range of situation or arrangement that is unclear, deceitful and
disproportionately risky. It could arise, as the subject matter of the transaction does not

24. 17
exist at the time that the transaction is made (Trakic and Tajuddin, 2012, pp.20-21).
Example of this sale will be the sale of future crop. On top of that, Gharar can be lead
by the incapability of delivering the subject matter of the transaction as well as if the
contract of sale remains ambiguity (without any specification). Based on the shariah
principles too, Islamic Finance shall not perform activities that engage with
impermissible activities conventional insurance, alcohol supply chain – producers,
distributors and stores, gambling, income from adult entertainment and non-halal
product.
Transaction that observed to be involved with above character shall not be regard as
Islamic Finance as it is not aligned with the shariah principles that acted as core
foundation of Islamic Finance.Crane (2009, p.5) commented ‘the highest achievement
over the centuries has been the induction from the Qur’an and hadith of the highest
normative principles of jurisprudence, namely, the Maqasid Al Shari’ah’. Is it not a
permissible transaction, as it does not go hand in hand with the parameters of Maqasid
Shariah – a Shariah parameters developed by the Shariah regulators. Maqasid Al-
Shariah encourage Muslims to observed the principles as total (entire system) rather
than partially – it leads to a complete life by restoring welfare as an obligation of each
Muslim’s action. It goals are to embrace both individuals and societies for the good of
this world and hereafter. In terms of Islamic finance, according to Vejzagic and Smolo
(2011, p.2) barely maximization of profits cannot be the only driving goal of a Muslim
society. Maximization of profit must go hand-in-hand with attempts to ensure healthy
human awareness, justice, and fair play at all levels of human interaction (mu’amalah).
In Maqasid Al Shariah explained by Rosly (2010) the intention of the shariah (Maqasid
Al Shariah) is said to serve two essential matters that is directed by the Lawgiver. Those
two are (1) Tahsil or securing the benefits (2) Ibqa or the repelling from harm and
injury. As consequences, the Shariah principles relates to the prohibition of activities
listed due to the insecurity of benefits earn by parties involved as well as the harmful
and injury caused by it.According to the Securities Commission Malaysia’s article on
Islamic Finance’s Maqasid Al Shariah (2012, fundamental of Islamic finance section),

25. 18
‘Majority of Islamic scholars has identify the benefits of protecting the
Necessities (Dharuriyyat) elements of Maqasid Al-Shariah (5 listed
above) is the ‘basic needs of human beings to safeguard them in order
to maintain their lives……in every law of Allah, there are presence of
the 5 elements of Dharuriyyat Maqasid Al-Shariah’
In addition, shariah has specified the minimum rights and responsibilities of each party
involved in a contract. This means, no party can be contractually bound to neither bear
the responsibilities of the other party nor be deprived of their minimum rights.If it is not
adhere to and there is a change in distribution rights, it will render the contract
impermissible (Trakic and Tajuddin, 2012, pp.34-27). For example, all risk (ownership)
risk cannot be transferred to the lessee, in a credit sale a buyer cannot be barred from
using the subject matter once the sale transaction has been concluded and in a
partnership agreement, losses must be shared in accordance to their ration of
contribution (amount invested) to the venture and cannot be exclusively born by party
specified.

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2.1.2 Shariah Parameters
In determining whether the transaction in Islamic Finance comply with the shariah
parameters mentioned in above paragraph, four parameters that need to be
acknowledged in order to for it to be valid as a shariah-complaint product or transaction.
(1) Aqad
Refers to as ‘Aqd in Arabic defined as an obligation which means contract or a
tie. Razali (2008) defined it as ‘a commitment made by one person to another to
undertake a certain actual or verbal disposable to the second party which
something to benefit of another person’. According to the Quran, it is a faithful
fulfillment of duty. Hence, every transaction between parties must accompany
by a valid contract. In this case, a valid contract shall fulfill below matter
(principles of contract):
• Buyer and seller – need to be rational in understanding their role and
obligation
• Price – on the spot and made known to both parties
• Subject matter – must be pure (mal-mutawawim), free from prohibited
elements
• Offer and acceptance – offered by seller and accepted by buyer
As issues came in related to the legitimacy of Islamic transaction or products, it
should not be criticize solely based on Aqad because it is also exposed to the
harm that was supposed to be avoided according to the Maqasid Al Shariah.
Both are not supposed to be conflict or contradicting one another – however, if it
does, Maqasid Al Shariah should stand above the rulings of Aqad because the it
is based on Divide law and the Aqad is initiated through Fiqh or better known as
human understanding Vejzagic and Smolo (2011, p.11)

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(2) Maqasid Al Shariah (Purpose of Shariah)
Transaction under Islamic Finance product must have a valid intention of
shariah (to preserve and protect the basic needs of mankind) in order to be
qualified as a Shariah complaint. Based on Crane (2009) in Islamic Law, the
basic necessities are as follows:
• Religion (Deen)
• Life (Nafs)
• Progeny (Nasl)
• Intellectual (‘Aql)
• Property (Mal)
(3) Financial Reporting
Reporting displays what is transacted in an agreement and intended to address
all the information of the business. The report should be reliable, comparable,
relevant to users and understandable in order to ensure excellent level of
transparency and integrity is present (Trakic and Tajuddin, 2012, pp.45-47).
Furthermore, it is important as once the report has been published, stakeholders
and investors will predict the future cash flows of the company through the
figures and information given. Thus, any errors / wrong information within the
report will eventually jeopardize investors and company’s future.In Islamic
Finance, all above criteria mentioned are crucial in order to maintain the validity
of shariah compliant product and services offered. Overall, it is fair to conclude
financial reporting is a compulsory in eliminating the uncertainty and fraud
through factual reporting of transactions.
(4) Legal Documentation
Islamic transaction must provide security and protection to parties entering a
contract. Their obligations, rights and responsibilities needs to clearly defined in
a legal documentation (Trakic and Tajuddin, 2012, pp.45-47). This parameter is
imperative as it seeks fairness and legal protection in the case of fraud or the
outcome of the contract is not acting towards the agreement

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2.2 Philanthropy
The act of philanthropy is defined as ‘a medium for individuals to express their values,
to single out particular issues or causes as being worthy of attention through gifts of
money, to support activities that benefits the public’ Frumkin (2006, p.1).
Philanthropy somehow appears to be individualistic in nature however works in public
sphere. It is not something new or specific to a group of community. It is a worldwide
phenomenon and works on different context and needs - studies cited in a book written
by Friedman and Mcgarvie (2003, p.52) indicate‘In the early 20th
century the
progressive side of this tradition of missionary activism and world reform was
transmuted into scientific forms of philanthropy that helped shape domestic and foreign
policy as well as social reform in the United States. Pattern of thought and behavior
proved to be highly effective stimuli of social change’.
As ‘philanthropy addressed a social ill at the same time created new opportunities for
personal services’ (Friedman and Mcgarvie, 2003, p.43), it has a gone through a lot of
history and deeply intertwined with many of world’s religions. In Islam, the Holy Quran
stated numerous urges Muslim into the acts of kindness, Allah SWT commands,
‘And urges not the feeding of Al Miskin (the poor), and those who do good
deeds only to be seen’ (Surah Al - Maa’un verse 3 and 4)
Muslims are told to show kindness and compassion of Allah SWT’s creation – their
hearts are meant to be generous. Hence, philanthropy works hand in hand with the
mandate of Allah SWT where the good act aim to help one and another whilst
portraying love towards mankind and the society in general.

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Within Christianity, faith, charity and philanthropy inter-linked rigorously in many
aspect of the religion. Bible (The lockman foundation, 1995) verse quoted,
‘At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your
produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town’ Deuteronomy
14:28
‘But you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend
him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks’ Deuteronomy 15:8
Focusing on modern philanthropy, despite of the obvious benefits that it prevails, quite
number of literature has concerned and argued that the act of giving make the poor less
self-esteem and hopeless. Frumkin (2006, p.5) stated ‘offering money to the poor gives
a place for them to take and not earned in order to survived’. Moreover, as the good act
grew in size and scope, it still will not able to addressed and get to the root causes of the
problems – it often look at the temporary symptoms felt by the poor and needy rather
than constructing lasting solution that will prevent such occasion to occur again in the
future.
The not ‘lock’ to the purposed type of giving has been criticized as the funds given have
the possibility to be channeled to something that is not benefiting or provide any change
to the current problems. There is lack of professionalism in philanthropy activity as it is
often informal. The fact that it is very popular and created impact on certain level,
without coordination, the act could be disorganized, unruly and not serving its original
purposed. Frumkin (2006, p.7) suggested ‘efforts to revive and idea expansion at
solving a problem rather than relieving its symptoms’. On a separate note, Gan (2006,
p.217) a firmly believe that it is not systematic as it seen to be more like a projection of
contributor’s compassion and care than as a potential tool for social change’. Therefore,
Payton and Moody suggested being analytical on philanthropy helps in leveraging in,
‘to reflect on it, critically and inquisitively, with an open mind, open to both limits and
possibilities, its achievements and disappointments’ (2000, p.10)

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2.3 Waqf
The Islamic waqf appears to rise as an incredible instrument in the effort to contribute
back to the society while sustaining the good deeds out of it. Kuran (2001, p.841)
presented that waqf is a long served instrument for delivering public goods in a
decentralized behavior. As previously it is more prone to property type of contributions,
the current waqf model has been innovate to revitalize the power that it has through
adding dynamic elements to every new product and services that waqf models
introduced. Thus, producing wealth that is perpetual and longevity. In the next section,
waqf review will be focused on the current cash waqf that recently gained a lot of
popularity due to its convenient and achievement in making waqf accessible to the
general public in these modern days.
2.3.1 Cash Waqf
The current need of cash waqf attract much institution to come out with an innovative
solution to its creation. Abdel Mohsin (2009) described cash waqf as ‘the confinement
of an amount of money by a founder, individual, organization and the dedication of its
usufruct in perpetuity to the welfare of the society’. To position cash waqf in a way that
traditional waqf secure a sustainable benefits from the contribution – which not only
aim to serve current generation but also future generation, majority Muslim jurists has
agreed that the Shariah aspect of cash waqf creation restricted to the three followings
below element (Al-Sarakhsi and Ahmad, 1906; Al-Zuhaili, 2004) This is done to unsure
protection on the act so that founders will keep be rewarding until the Day of Judgment,
which is also the motivation for creating sadaqah jariah.
(a) Irrevocability – once cash waqf has been created, the founder could not revoke.
(b) Perpetuity – it must be perpetual once it is created in order to ensure
sustainability through the outcomes that could benefit the society
(c) Inalienability – no one could become owner to alienate the asset, instead it will
be ‘lock’ and not subject to any transfer, gift or inheritance.

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The common collection of cash waqf is in the form of funds from public/founders to
finance lawful (halal) products or services needed in the society.
To guard the aspect of perpetuity and sustainability, it is often invested and then
distributed to the society (once revenue has been generated through the investment).
Supported by Abdel Mohsin (2013, p.319) ’cash waqf is a vibrant tool for fundraising in
meeting crucial needs, promoting people to participate in it directly and indirectly well
contribute to welfare of the society at large and seeking compound rewards in the
hereafter’
The revival of cash waqf scheme in many countries in the world has unleashed the
present potential of cash waqf itself. During the Ottoman era, waqf (including cash
waqf) was so popular that it is vital in public services, as they were made available
through public donations. In the twenty-first century, among cash waqf type that has
been created are cash waqf share, deposit cash waqf, compulsory cash waqf, corporate
waqf, deposit product waqf and co-operative waqf.
2.3.1.1 Cash waqf - cash waqf shares
Majority of the mentioned cash waqf emerged in Muslim and minority countries like
Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom – with the aim to support welfare
of the society(Abdel Mohsin, 2013).Reported by the State Islamic Council of Malaysia
(Annual Report, 2009) in 1990s waqf shares in Malaysia attained spotlight and accepted
at large as fund raising scheme which later succeeded in financing other projects such as
constructing new mosque and religious school, developing the current waqf land,
maintaining current religious infrastructure and providing amenities for the welfare of
general public.Indonesia provides a great example as well by introducing the Indonesian
waqf Fund Shares through its cash waqf (Dodik, 2007; Dompet Annual Reports). It
benefited Muslims in Indonesia largely by improving poverty problems in the country,
providing free educations in the rural areas and entrepreneurship program to help to
community be more independent and stocking the medical supplies for current and
future use.

32. 25
Figure 4: Waqf share scheme
Source: International Islamic Charitable Organization
Similarly, Kuwait has managed to establish a global platform through an International
Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO), which intended to give aids and assist the poor
communities. Figure above demonstrate how the organization has created impact
through their initiatives – this model has been implemented rigorously in many parts of
the world in introducing the new cash waqf scheme. It is easy to be understood and
implemented relevant application.
Cash waqf – deposit cash waqf
As we move on to deposit cash waqf, depositors usually contribute cash to specific
institution’s bank account. In Figure 5, the money then could be invested through
agreement between bank (where the money being deposited) and the institutions. As a
trustee of the funds, money generated from the investment of earlier cash waqf
contribution will be given to the institution for distribution to society (Abdel Mohsin,
2013). On top of that, it is vital for banks need to act according to shariah principles (in
their investment) in order to be aligned to the waqf concept.
Figure 5: Deposit cash waqf model
Source: Magda Ismail Abdel Mohsin, 2013
Contributors
/
Individuals
/
Corporations
Buy
waqf
shares
and
receive
waqf
certi:icates
Religious
Institution
/
NGO
/
Trustee
Collect,
Manage,
Invest
of
the
waqf
funds
Revenue
will
be
distributed
back
to
the
society
through
Schools,
Hospitals,
Training
Centers
and
more
Depositor
1
Depositor
2
Depositor
3
Religious
Institutions
Bene:iciaries
1
Bene:iciaries
2
Bank
(Invest)
Revenue
generated
Contributions
Revenue
Deposits

33. 26
2.3.1.2 Cash waqf – compulsory cash waqf
In compulsory cash waqf medium, contributions are made through the central provident
fund where monthly contribution according to certain agreed percentage (depending on
their monthly income) is deducted from employees. In Figure 6, the contribution are
channeled to national religious council which act as trustee (mutawalli) and later act as
a financing modes to charitable purposes program such as mosque building and
repairing, conducting educational programs and more. However, there is debate over
this particular type of cash waqf as it could somehow miss the perpetuity part of the
waqf element since the amount are channel to beneficiaries without investing it to any
specific investment.
Figure 6: Compulsory cash waqf model
Source: Magda Ismail Abdel Mohsin, 2013
Monthly
contributions
•
Compulsory
monthly
contributions
made
by
Muslim
employees
depending
on
their
monthly
gross
income
Islamic
Council
as
a
Trustee
•
Amount
deducted
from
their
salaries
will
be
channeled
through
Islamic
Council
(Trustee
or
Mutawalli)
Funds
:inance
welfare
of
society
•
Amount
collected
:inance
charitable
purposes
(mosque,
schools
and
educational
programs)
and
distributed
to
the
needy

34. 27
2.3.1.3 Cash waqf – corporate cash waqf
The corporate waqf goes beyond individual as it involves the participation of public and
private organizations. As displayed in Figure 7, Associated Waqf Institution act as a
trustee will manage and invest the accumulated cash waqf from contributors before
distributing it to general public. Contributors come from individuals of cash waqf and
public and private organizations that contributed certain percentage from their corporate
social responsibility (CSR) initiatives (Abdel Mohsin, 2013).
This type of cash waqf has been practiced by State Government of Johor, Malaysia
(Jcorp) where is established Waqf An-Nur Corporation Berhad as a trustee to the cash
waqf. The corporation has succeeded providing variety of needs not only in the state of
Johor but also in Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Sarawak. Among of it are, building
mosque, hospitals and chain of clinics, opening dialysis center and providing other
health facilities to patients. On top of that, the organization uses the funds to promote
act of voluntary by assisting victims of disaster and donations during ad-hoc occasion
(Jcorp Annual Report, 2007)
Figure 7: Corporate cash waqf model
Source: Magda Ismail Abdel Mohsin, 2013
Cash
waqf
Scheme
(1)
Mother
of
Corporation
(2)
Associated
Waqf
Institution
(3)
Invested
for
Revenue
(4)
Bene:iciaries
Projects
Corporate
waqf
Scheme
After
deduction
of
operational
expenses
Cash
dividends
Contributions

35. 28
2.3.1.4 Cash waqf – cooperative cash waqf
For this type of cash waqf, every district in the country will act as a trustee in managing
its cash waqf. Every district will be responsible to provide the needs of the society (in
their respective district). Figure 8 shows, very citizen act as a contributor of cash waqf
endowing money in different projects through district acting as the trustee of the funds.
The earnings from investment will then be channeled to beneficiaries through various
projects in their own district. Similar to other types of cash waqf, cooperative cash waqf
differ as the district is holding the role of the trustee (Abdel Mohsin, 2013).
Figure 8: Cooperative cash waqf model
Source: Magda Ismail Abdel Mohsin, 2013
2.4 Gaps and Issues
In a nutshell, majority of literature reflects the tremendous potential that lies in the
context of waqf. The recent revival of movable form (cash waqf) has made waqf more
accessible to the general public to contribute to the welfare of society as well as
performing Ibadah through sadaqah jariah.Abd Latif et al.(2006) explained that ‘the
Holy Quran has clearly said waqf institution is for the humans to do good deeds for the
society’,
‘Never will you attain the good (reward) until you spend in the way of
Allah, from which you love. And whatever you spend – indeed Allah is
knowing of it’ (Surah Al Imran Verse 4)
We have successful in understanding of waqf in general traditional way, now it is about
time that the rise of modern waqf should be accompanied with the correct knowledge

36. 29
and understanding of it. The acceptance and perceived understanding towards the
current waqf is still questionable and should be address accordingly. Supported by Kahf
(2005, p.7) ‘The good part of 20th
century is where the management of waqf continued
to follow inherited pattern in most Muslim’s world, however, the general atmosphere of
backwardness and underdeveloped system and mentality has prevailed concerns in the
industry.
With the current negative arguments on unmonitored philanthropy which could cause
damage in society’s mentality as well as potentially downgraded the culture to be less
efficient and in attentive. As philanthropy contribute to diverse and vibrant civil
community, it is undeniable that the act convey good morals towards other mankind
(philanthropy) however; the underlying purpose and the best practice of philanthropy
method will provide various opportunities for progress and healthful solutions to all the
problems that philanthropy trying to address in the first place. The modern Waqf is
seen to be the right solution if it is conducted in a proper manner addressing all its
barrier and challenges in the contexts of Malaysian Muslim society.
2.5 Theoretical Framework / Conceptual Model
In order to create an ethical philanthropy that is guarded and monitored closely by
trusted authority, Figure 9 shows the proposed concept:
Figure 9: Producer – Consumer – Beneficiary Relationship

37. 30
The framework designed to guide researcher in providing visual representation on the
construct if interest in this study. As understood in the cash waqf literature earlier, the
concept of trustee is important to manage all the contributions collected. Therefore,
producers in figure above must not only act as parties who are producing the waqf
product but also as a great manager in planning the movement of the funds. Consumer
or subscribers, which comes from individuals or corporate sector, will subscribe the
waqf from producer as they intent to channeled their contributions to the beneficiaries.
Abdel Mohsin (2013) in his research findings quoted ‘the potential of cash waqf not
only limited to religious objective but also in financing different goods and services
needed globally which includes education, health, infrastructure, basic facilities and
social care to majority of the general public’. Due to the wide range of possibilities in
distribution, producers are expected to be prepared with the efficient implementation of
waqf.

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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Determining an appropriate research methodology is an important element in research
study. Wedawatta et al. (2011) quoted ‘it involves approach to the entire process of a
research study, starting from theoretical underpinnings and spanning to data collection
and analysis, and extending to developing the solutions for the problems investigated’
Hence, classifying the methodology that best fit the research not only important to
achieve the objective of the study but ensure exceptional level of credibility to the work.
This chapter presents structure and procedures of the data collection that was use in
completing this research studies. It will guide the readers to understand and examine
how this particular chapter is significant in discovering all the answers that was stated
as the main aim of the study which is:
To investigate the Consumers’ Perception towards Waqf in Malaysia and how the
perception are motivating them to subscribe to Waqf as well as the factor that is
hindering them to Waqf subscription so that we could further enhance on the
initiatives to get more Waqf subscribers in the near future.
Saunders et al. (2009) indicates that research based on exploratory design are chosen
mainly to investigate what is happening, to ask questions and seek insights, to get assess
to the phenomena in a new light as well as getting clarified with the understanding of
the problems. Thus, research could possibly be broad. However, it will progressively
narrowed down to the specific aim as it goes along in the process of research. In this
case, exploratory design is use due to the fact that Waqf is a traditional instrument that
are lacking in research papers and journals that addressing the acceptance and behavior
of general public towards the subscription of Waqf in the modern days. Even though
there are plenty of academic journals and research in the topic area of Waqf, there is not
much reference and literature found relating Waqf and the perception of Malaysian
public in specific other than articles from periodic magazines and books. Hence, this
reasoning prove that this propose area of study requires more exploration by the
researcher in order to further understand the subject matter, then develop it in becoming
a new useful theory.

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Based on ‘The Research Onion’ concept which the thoughts with regards to research
problem lie right at the center of the onion, Saunders et all (2009) has listed several
stages that needed to be ‘peeled away’ in designing a research studies. The layers of
onion comprises of:
• Research Philosophy
• Research Approach
• Research Strategies
• Time Horizon
• Data Collection Method
Figure 10: The Research Onion
Source: Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill, 2009

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Research Philosophy
Begin with the outermost layer of the onionskin, which is a philosophy, it intends the
researcher to work on the way through the stratum of onion before going to more in-
depth towards the approach, strategies, time horizon and data collection method. To
recognize the whole function of doing a research, researcher are required to have a
philosophy that underpin within their thinking – this will assist them in producing
approach and strategy which will eventually give answers to the initial research
questions.
The three types of research philosophies mentioned by Saunders et al. (2009) are
positivism, realism and interpretivism – all this are influenced by the view of
relationship between knowledge and the process by which it is developed. Lewis et al.
(2004) defined interpretivism as the following:
‘A term used to identify approached to social sciences ………..... The study of
social sciences requires an understanding of the social worlds that people
inhabit, which they already interpreted by the meanings they produce and
reproduce as a necessary part of their everyday activities together, it requires
interpretation through the use of scientific concept and theories, and to make
choices about what is relevant to the problem under the investigation’
This research has applied the interpretivism philosophy which often been used in
exploratory qualitative research. Despite the ‘qualitative’ been mentioned earlier, this
study has been altered in a best possible way to suits both qualitative and quantitative
method. As this study outline aim to explain the behavior of Malaysian towards Waqf
instrument as well as the key motivation and factor s hindering to Waqf subscription in
the society, all this questions will be answered by interpreting the act of philanthropy
portrayed, the level of knowledge of the society in regards to Waqf, opinions and
perspective of the key players or industry experts in the industry itself.

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Research Approach
Approach is determined to provide a structure and flow to a research studies. Two of the
common approaches will be inductive and deductive. Inductive reasoning approach
referred to as bottom-up logic where according to Saunders et al. (2009) it takes
researcher to develop the hypothesis or a theory after analyzing all the data collected. It
is often use to provide anunderstanding of ‘why’ it is happening. In contrast to
deductive reasoning approach or normally referred as top-down logic where researcher
whom opt this carry a hypothesis in the beginning of the process, which later been
proven by data analysis that collected during the process.In relating it to this study,
inductive reasoning approach is more appealing as there is no hypothesis developed and
new theory will be discovered at the end of the study based on the data analysis that will
be done. In this case, researcher do not know what is the perception that consumer carry
towards Waqf in Malaysia as well as the motivation and factor hindering for them to
subscribe to Waqf. The findings of this study are established based on the
questionnaires and focus group interview answers obtained.
Research Strategy
Bryman (2008, p.698) translated strategy as ‘a general orientation to the conduct of
research’. On the other hand, Wedawatta et all (2011) defined research strategy as ‘the
overall direction of the research including the process by which the research is
conducted’. Strategies vary from experiment, survey, case study, action research,
grounded theory, ethnography and archival research.Yin (2003) recommended research
strategy to be selected based on three conditions; (1) type of research questions (2)
extent of control an investor has over actual behavioral events (3) the degree of focus on
contemporary or historical events.
Among all strategies listed in The Research Onion, this research study has selected
survey strategy. According to the Oxford dictionaries (2014), survey is literally means
as ‘look closely or examine someone or something’ while in-depth definition suggest
survey as ‘investigate the opinions or experience of (group of people) by asking them
questions. Survey is a system of data collection that enables ones to describe, compare
and explain the attitudes, behavior and knowledge surrounds by the information. This

42. 35
study leverage the survey strategy by getting information from the general public as
well as asking industry experts’ opinion towards the key subject of the study. The
public behavior towards philanthropy and Waqf prepare the researcher to analyze and
benchmark the current Waqf in the society.
Time Horizon
Research duration varies between cross-sectional or longitudinal studies. Cited through
The Research Onion model, Saunders et al. (2009) classified cross sectional is study
done on specific occasion at specific point of time, while in contrast longitudinal is
conducted over continuous period. Pertinent to this study, it is observed that cross-
sectional studies are more relevant to be linked to this study due to ad-hoc background
of it as well as the time constraint of the study period – which is 14 weeks.
Questionnaires (data collection) has been distributed and collected within period of one
week. All 200 questionnaires had been return to researcher right after it was answered.
As for the focus group, it was conducted in 2 sessions of 10 participants at a time.
3.1 Data Collection Method
In this study, there was only primary data used in order to generate the result of the
study. There was no analysis performed using secondary data. All primary data
collected involves a structured questionnaires method. Method used in this study is set
to provide advantages not only in terms of appropriateness but also in delivering the
answers for research questions. Researcher has combined mixed method of quantitative
and qualitative. Quantitative method has been used in analyzing questionnaires while
qualitative is used in the group interview.
(a) Questionnaires
The author has prepared the questionnaires according to the aim of the study. It
has been personally administered as it been distributed to the general public.
Moreover, pilot testing has been done before the questionnaires is distributed to
ensure technical errors can be avoided. Personal administration is done to ensure
that all enquiries in regards to the questions could be answered in order to

43. 36
generate result that from a well-understood background. Supported by Sekaran
and Bougie, (2013, p.147) ‘Any doubts tat respondents might have on the
questions can be clarified on the spot’. Although, personally administered
questionnaires are time consuming, it served advantages in reaching out
respondent fast and efficient.
(b) Focus group interviews
It is vital to get insights from the experts in exploratory research. Therefore,
methods of interviewing industry experts to get their view through focus group
discussion provide an opportunity to gain both facts and suggestions in the
findings. The focus group interviews are done in both, structured and
unstructured manner.
Structured questions in the focus interview conducted with specific outcomes to
get what is wanted at the end of the interview. This type can be classified as
rigid as new issue might not able to be explored and brought up by the
respondent during the session. On the other hand, unstructured interview provide
a platform for the respondent to go more in-depth over what they feel towards
the subject as well wouldn’t mind suggesting new ideas and information to be
included in. It is more carefree kind of interaction that benefited the interviewers
in many ways.

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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, findings from the questionnaires and focus group interview are analyzed
and discussed. It aims to find out reasoning behind every response, therefore a
relationship between findings and literature review could be identified.
As questionnaires intended to get the general perception towards Waqf and philanthropy
act in the society, focus group interview designated to determine the reason behind the
perception as well as getting more insights towards improving current Waqf. The
discussion of findings will be divided based onthe five research questions stated earlier
in this study.
4.1 Profile of Respondents
The questionnaires have been distributed to 200 respondents coming from general
public with different background and working class – researchers manage to get 100%
response out of the distribution number. The respondents come from the age group of
25 - 50 years old. The data has been distributed during several occasion includes a
Muslim festivals, expos and seminars conducted in conjunction with Malaysia
Independence Day celebration at Putrajaya Convention Center. Researcher collaborated
with the organizer of the event where questionnaires have been placed at the registration
counter for them to fill up as part of the compulsory requirement to enter the event hall.
On top of that, researcher visited major shopping mall, coffee shops, education center
and non-profit organization to reach as many level of society as it could in regards to
satisfy the ‘general public’ as the subject matter.
The positive responses are linked to the personal administrated action that has been
applied during the collection of data. Even though it is time consuming, by monitoring
every respondent in the process of answering the questionnaires enable researcher to get
the amount of respondents according to the aim. On top of that, the questionnaires
managed to be answered by Malaysian Muslim from different ethnicity other than
Malay. This is due to the sample size that is not restricted to certain tight criteria.

45. 38
On the other hand, researcher manages to get 20 respondents, experts within the
industry (amongst them are lecturers, Islamic experts, waqf practitioners and
professionals in waqf) to participate in the focus group interview which indicates
overall active response rate of 100% for both questionnaires and focus group interview.
The positive number of response is due to briefing that was conducted by the researcher
(as part of the requirement to become the respondents) in order to explain the aim and
outcomes of the research – this has enabled the researcher to create an interest to
participate the interview session.
4.1.1 Profile of Respondents for Questionnaires
Figure 11: Gender – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires
Figure 12: Age – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires

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Figure 11 indicates 90 female and 110 male respondents have taken the questionnaires.
Even though the numbers are not equally proportionate, it is fair as there was not
significant number of difference in gender counts. All 200 respondents were distributed
to general public aged between 25 years old up to above 50 years old. This was done to
captured every group which is significant to the findings of diverse ‘general public’
itself. In Figure 12, respondents aged 25 years old to 29 years old recorded 19% of the
respondents (38 out of 200 respondents) which is the lowest believe to be able to
forecast view for those in the beginner level of understanding waqf while 31% of them
(which is the largest percentage) comes from aged 40 – 49 years old.
Figure 13: Ethnicity – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires
As for ethnicity, the large number of the respondents comes from Malay. As we know,
the majority Malaysian Muslims are Malays even though there are also Muslims that
comes from different ethnicity in Malaysia such as Chinese and Indian. Besides that, the
questionnaires also able to capture the Melanau and Kadazan Muslim with classified as
Others in the Figure 13. This ethic group often comes from the East part of Malaysia
(Sabah and Sarawak). As the questionnaire was aim to get the information from diverse
background of Malaysian Muslim, Figure 14 shows the highest education level of the
respondents varies from SPM (Malaysians Certificate of Education) to Phd (Doctorate).
In this case, Bachelors level captured the highest with 74 out of 200 respondents in
total, while STPM (Malaysian Higher School Certificate) and PhD (Doctorate) level are
among the lowest.

47. 40
Figure 14: Highest Education Level – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires
Similarly, employment level and income level also captured different groups in the
society where 55 of them comes from public sector, 63 from private sector, 25 are
self-employed and 57 are not employed. The not employed respondents come from
people who are currently studying or have retired from their employment. Figure 14
shows proportionate percentage over respondents from not employed, public and
private sector.
Figure 15: Employment Background – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires

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As for income level, Figure 16 shows large percentage of the respondents earns RM
3000 and below, this is acceptable mainly because 29% of the respondents are not
employed. Respondents who earns between RM 3000 to RM9000 recoded almost
proportionate number. According to Salary Explorer (2014) website, average monthly
salary in Malaysia is RM 7,301 while the median is RM 5,000 and minimum will be
around RM 800. It is important to get various level of society to understand how
common people, who are not directly, involve in waqf or Islamic finance industry
viewed this research accordingly. It will add credibility as their opinion reflects ‘the
public’.
Figure 16: Income – Profile of Respondents, Questionnaires

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4.1.2 Profile of Respondents in Focus Group
Figure 17: Gender – Profile of Respondents, Focus Group Interview
Figure 18: Gender – Profile of Respondents, Focus Group Interview
Figure 18 indicates 6 female and 14 male respondents have participated in the focus
group interview. This illustrate indirectly that males were dominating the Waqf
industry. Out of these participants, large number of them aged above 50 years old, even
though the remaining aged range from 30 years old to 49. This is because most of the
industry experts are either on the managerial level or have retired from their
employment. On the upper hand, it will lead to more reliable answers from those whom
have extensive experience in the area of waqf.

50. 43
Figure 19: Ethnicity – Profile of Respondents, Focus Group Interview
All 20 participants of focus group interview are Malays as it is not easy to search for
specific ethnics who are industry experts in Waqf to participate in this interview. Even
if there are waqf experts who come from different ethnics background, researchers’
limited networks and time constrain act as a barrier to get in order to find them (to
participate in the focus group interview).
Figure 20: Highest Education Level – Profile of Respondents, Focus Group Interview
Referring to Figure 20, in regards to level of education of focus group interview
participants, the starting level comes from Bachelors (3 participants) and Professionals

51. 44
(2 participants) while the biggest number recorded coming from respondents with PhD
(doctorate) level. This aligned with the focus of the interview as well – aims to provide
insight from the experts whom have extensive knowledge and research background in
the area of waqf.
Figure 21: Employment Background – Profile of Respondents, Focus group Interview
Figure 22: Income– Profile of Respondents, Focus group Interview

52. 45
As for their employment background, none of them are self-employed and mostly come
from the private sector and retirees (not employed). The private sector comprises key
players within the industry varies from investor, sharia advisor and practitioner. There is
also significant amount of participant coming from public sector, which often in-charge
of the waqf institution bodies in Malaysia. Furthermore, based on Figure majority of
them recorded RM 11,000 and above earnings income which reflects the ‘seniority’ in
the industry that they are in while other ranges fairly between RM 5,000 to RM 11,000.
4.2 Practices in Philanthropic Activities
This part will report the research questions of what are the perceptions of Muslim
consumers towards Philanthropy; this will then reflect the willingness to give of the
Malaysian public. Giving refers to ‘a generous act that transfer resources voluntarily
from one party to another’ (Frumkin, 2006, p.4). The presence of philanthropy manner
reflects the benchmark level of altruism and magnanimity in the society. By
understanding the philanthropy behavior in Malaysia, this will enables us to relate the
Waqf, as an extension to the good behavior.
Figure 23: Sadaqah (Donation) Behavior
What are the perceptions of Muslim consumers towards Philanthropy?

53. 46
Figure 24: Frequency of Sadaqah (Donation)
According to the Figure 23, all of the (100%) respondents said ‘yes’ in giving Sadaqah
(donation). This gives an early indication on the act of giving that Muslims have. When
asked further on how often did they gave Sadaqah, 53% respondents reported that they
were committing themselves with ‘once a week’,25% respondents ticked once a month,
13.5% for twice a year and 9.5% for once a year - the number decrease as the duration
increase which means donations are made as frequent as they could. This shows
positive philanthropy movement across the society where more people displayed the act
of giving should be performed as often as they could. According to Frumkin (2006, p.4)
‘religious giving is typically small in size and carried out by individuals on a weekly
basis, it is significant because it indicates that a major part of giving is still operating on
a personal level of public as opposed to institutional level’. The findings showed
excellent level of ‘willingness’ in promoting welfare through generous donations.
Figure 25: Types of Sadaqah (Donation)

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From Figure 25, it was clear that, 89%of the respondents answered both cash, while
54% of therespondent’sin kind. Therefore, cash seems to be more popular due to the
fact that it is the most convenient mode of donations preferred by the
respondents.However, both cash and kind are used widely to make donations.
Figure 26: Distribution of Cash Sadaqah (Donation)
When asked about where their cash donations go, the majority stated that they
contribute to mosques (89.5%) and orphanage (86.5%) as their priority in donating their
cash and kind, although 49% of the respondents classify ‘Others’ at the same time.
‘Others’ here comprise Non-profit organization, Islamic reliefs, clubs and societies and
charity programs. Old folks home, schools and universities scored the lowest in Figure
26. Cash donations are likely to be more popular in mosque, orphanage and other
mention institution due to the accessibility of general public to donate. Taking example
of mosque, there are many designated donation box are placed in every corner of the
mosque which leads to higher chances in donations. As for orphanages, non-profit
organizations and charity bodies, they are usually very active in advertising their good
cause to the extend that they have their own dedicated bank account for it, this leads to
more awareness and convenient as public could easily do fund transfer through ATM
cash machine or online and mobile banking. In contrast to old folks home, schools and
universities it is less apparent that they are in the need of support. Quite a number of old

55. 48
folks home in Malaysia are privately (you have to pay to get in) and served as a service
for children who have no time to take care of their parents. Schools and universities in
Malaysia are either funded by government or run privately which makes more sense by
the public who are not keen to donate cash to this type of institution.
Figure 27: Distribution of Kind Sadaqah (Donation)
As for donations in kind, Figure 27shows that mosques and orphanages recorded among
the preferred ones with 84% and 91% of respondents reported to this institution.
Therefore, whether in cash or in kind, these two types are the most common donation
center for the general public. However, old folks home revealed higher percentage of
34.5% in kind type of donation compared to cash donation 27%. Hence, from the data,
it is fair to say respondents are more willingly to give kind instead of cash to old folks
home. According to dictionary.com (2014) ‘kind’ refer to ‘paid or given in goods,
commodities, services instead of money’, this mode of donations are often observed in
some institution are more popular with their voluntary programs such as ‘cleaning
weekends’, volunteer for their special programs or occasions as well as goods donation
to support their current operation. As for mosque, donations in kind are normally based
to support their operation as a religious institution. Among the kind of donations include
Holy Quran and related Islamic books, prayer mats and cloths, mineral waters for the
crowd and educational program amenities such as tables and chairs. In contrast to
orphanages, kind donations vary from food supplies to daily attire as every orphanages

56. 49
required different needs. On top of that, it is quite common for Malaysian to recycle the
pre-loved items by distributing them to the orphanages rather than to be thrown.
School and universities reported the small increments towards kind type of donation
while ‘Others’ decrease to 37.5% respondents. This is because the culture towards
‘sponsorship’ from parents in most school in Malaysia are currently rising as they
realized the benefits that their children able to gain from their kind donations.
Sponsorship is being practiced widely during big events such as school’s sport day
where a lot items and support highly needed in the school. Understood that ‘Others’
comprises bodies such as Islamic reliefs and non-profit organizations, public the
number of respondents decline to the kind donations behavior compared to cash due to
the assumption that cash will be more efficient and convenient medium to donate - the
institution knew what is the suitable items they need most, therefore with the cash
donated, they could purchase it themselves.
To understand the motive behind this good act of donation, question 10 of the
questionnaires asks the reasoning behind given donations. For this type of question
answers has been rated on a scale of strongly disagrees, disagree, neutral, agree and
strongly agree to determine exact judgment on the subject matter discussed.
Figure 28: Factor motivating Sadaqah (Donation) - Good Religious Deeds

57. 50
85% of the respondents strongly agree and 12.5% agree that their donations are given
for the purpose of attaining religious good deeds. In Islam good deeds works on the Day
of Judgment, where all good work perform by Muslim will be outweigh in order to
enter the Paradise (Baianonie,1988). The Holy Quran says,
‘To those who believe and do good deeds of righteousness hath Allah
SWT promised forgiveness and a great reward’ (Surah Al Maidah)
Hence, the data correlated the act of donating and the purpose of gaining good deeds.
The remaining of 2.5% of the respondents stated neutral as their response probably
because the reasons behind their donations are to see the direct outcomes of it.
Figure 29: Factor motivating Sadaqah (Donation) – Sharing extra income
According to Figure 29, 69.5% of the respondents recorded neutral in addressing their
donations as an act to share extra income with others in the society while 7% disagree
that donations are meant for sharing income earned. The terms ‘sharing income’
appeared to be less favorable due to the fact that Malaysian current average income is
not on an apparent level for the respondents to ‘share’. Murugasu et al. (2013) indicate
that,
‘Malaysians households earning less than RM 1,000 will spend, on
average, RM0.81 from RM1 in additional disposable income. The
Marginal Propensity to Consume gradually declines as income increases,
with the results indicating that households earning over RM 10,000 will
spend merely RM0.25 from an additional RM1 of income’

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Even though according to the data household with lower income earning spend more of
their additional disposable income compared to household with higher income. Beverly
and Sherraden (1999) indicated ‘lower income individuals often less educated and tend
to be less financially literate’ – big portions of their income are spend on necessities and
thus not able to save much. This limits their access to saving products and more prone
to credit-constrained.As for the higher income individuals, data stated that they would
spend less of their disposable income as their income increase due to their commitment
to products like insurance and other savings commitment. Hence the purpose of their
donations is less likely meant to share their income proportion with the society. On a
separate note, 15.5% of the respondents agree while a small portion of 8% strongly
agrees that their donations are merely based on sharing extra income purposes.
Through all the questions discussed earlier, we could safely said that philanthropy are
widely being practiced in the society regardless of being low, average or high income
earner - the act of giving is still prevalent in Figure 23 with 100% of the respondents
has been subscribing to donations in general. Moreover, 53% of also admit to be
committed to donations at least once a week. This findings reflecting positive
movement of ‘giving’ across every level in the society as the sample of respondents
come from different background of age, level of education and income level. According
to World Giving Index 2011 cited in Osman et all studies (2012, p.1) ‘Despite the
global economic turmoil, the world is giving more, the percentage of people engaged to
give has increment between 2010 to 2011. In 2010, USA recorded as the most
charitable country while Malaysia has successfully be in the Top 100 rank where we
stand at 87th with 29% giving index score comprises 37% of giving money, 30%
helping strangers and 20% volunteering work being performed across the nation. With
this data, it strengthen the view over the findings of Malaysians are in general used to
the act of philanthropy.

59. 52
4.3 Perception towards Waqf
Moving on to Waqf, in this section we are expected to discover the behavior towards
waqf in the society. Perception is classified as ‘the way you think about or understand
someone’, ‘the ability to notice and understand the action using senses’ (Merriam-
Webster Dictionary, 2014) By having knowledge in this area would enable us to
interpret how waqf has played role in the behavior of Malaysian Muslim and we could
potentially forecast the reasoning behind every action that they made in regards to waqf.
Figure 30: Awareness of waqf
Similar to Q7 relating to Sadaqah, Figure 30 of waqf literal definition also able to
captured 100% of the respondents to say ‘yes’ – to show that they have at least heard of
it before. Mohamed Isa (2011, p.561) argue ‘Muslim all over the world are exposed to
the Waqf practice, but how deep is their knowledge on waqf is difficult to determine’ In
investigating their knowledge further, as questionnaires asked weather they are aware of
it, Figure 31 stated the number of the respondents declined to 95% stating ‘yes’ and 5%
indicates a ‘no’ in their answers. From 5% we could say that there are respondents who
know waqf during their lifetime however have not heard or seen waqf been published or
promoted in their environment.
In order to testify the statement, further elaboration was asked on how did they know
waqf? In Figure 32, 79% of the respondents has indicates mosque and religious talk as
the place where they are introduced and acquire the knowledge of waqf. On top of that,
What are the perceptions of Muslim consumers towards Waqf?

60. 53
49% named family and friends as their sources. This is expected due to the fact that
family waqf has been widely practice in the context of Muslim in general. The
remaining 19.5% reflects ‘others’ as their sources, which includes Islamic studies, Waqf
and Zakat institution and visits to waqf lands and property. Media coverage recorded
the lowest even though it is understood that media covers a large part of the society. Dik
(1996, p.11) ‘Media power is generally symbolic and persuasive, in the sense that it has
the potential to controlto some extend minds of readers or viewers’
Figure 31: Waqf Awareness Level
Figure 32: Waqf Knowledge Chanel

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Figure 33: Mode of Waqf
Moving on to the mode of contributing to waqf, Figure 33show59% has stated that they
knew contributions of waqf could only be made through kind while 9% of the
respondents admitted cash is the only mode of contributions that appear to their
knowledge of waqf. Written by Osman et al. (2012) ‘Typically, waqf are focused on the
building’. Other than that, 32% have answered yes to both cash and kind could be used
to subscribe to waqf. This gives an early indication that the level of awareness and
understanding is still very low due to the fact waqf in old days are conducted using
property rather than kind. Hassan and Abdullah (2008) reported that, ‘In Malaysia waqf
lands are noted to be over 32,000 acres’ due to the perpetuity in nature of waqf and
family application historic in the waqf areathe general public are often more exposed to
property waqf understanding rather than the current ones.
Figure 34: Waqf willingness

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Despite the level of understanding discussed earlier in Question 11, 100% of the
respondents has given positive feedback in willingness towards subscribing to waqf.
Through the awareness of waqf (in mosque, religious talk, family and friends, media
coverage and others) they are exposed quite well with how waqf contributions able to
help others in the society. This, leads to the reasoning of 100% scoring when asked if
they are willingly to participate in waqf - it is possible to conclude the word ‘waqf’ in
the eyes of general public has a positive attraction.
The following discussion will reflect on channeled for waqf contribution that
respondents will not likely and most likely to used in subscribing to waqf.
Figure 35: Contribution Channel Likeliness - Mosque
As the questionnaires listed mosque in the poll, it manage to get 72% most likely and
26% likelyin Figure 35. The remaining 2% recorded neutral. Aligned with all other
questions earlier that listed mosque as their answers, it never fails to repeat good result.
As the old-fashioned waqf always be linked to Mosque, cemetery and religious
buildings, therefore, huge number of the respondent are reluctant to channel their waqf
contributions to Mosque. Supported by Osman et al. (2011) the understanding of
Malaysian public towards waqf is too narrow that they linked it with construction of
mosque and cemetery despite wider function of waqf itself’. This statement could be
supported b the evidence in Figure 36 below, where 68.5% of respondents indicates
most likely and 30% says likely to waqf contributions to religious school. Mosque and
religious school has almost identical responds. On top of that, Osman et all (2012) has