The legal obstacles of waqf's development in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia: an original and analytical study

Abstract

This study aims to identify the legal obstacles that hinders the development of Waqf in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the research attempts to root out and analyses the causes and consequences of legal obstacles that hinders the development of Waqf in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study also aims to contribute to provide necessary suggestions to address and solve such legal obstacles. It discusses and analyses the arguments that aim to criticize Waqf and call for the abolishing the national Waqf in some Islamic countries. Therefore, the study responds to such arguments and calls for providing detailed regulations that organize movement of some provisions of Waqf in the Kingdom. In this study, the researcher adopts several approaches to conduct this research. These include the inductive descriptive approach and deductive approach. Based on his own experience, the researcher extrapolates and investigates the case of the study according to the literature of Waqf that enable him to provide his own views on the causes, consequences and solutions of the legal obstacles. All these are expected to develop the Islamic Waqf as well as enable the researcher to provide his views on the reform of legal construction of Waqf. The researcher concludes that it is important to adopt the systems of control, accounting and legal review that are applicable in business enterprises to strengthen the preservation of the assets and resources of Waqf. The researcher also concludes that there is need to develop Waqf and invest the financial surplus, thereof, in high-yield and low-risk investment areas in order to increase the shares of revenue and increases the real incomes of those who are eligible. This can also combat the steady increase of their numbers and decrease the purchasing power of their cash shares. Finally, the research highlights the importance of strategic planning for the development and investment of Waqf funds and takes them to the levels of real private investment.