Abstract:

Real estate waqfs which operated insitutions such as madrasahs, souphouses, hans, mosques, and hospitals had been active in the fields of education, religion and charity. These waqfs which tried to meet institutional needs of the society generally consisted of real estates. In close connection with these waqfs, there were their sections, which contributed to the emergence of cash (nukud) waqfs to meet educational, religious, social and economical needs of the society and to ensure the maintenance of waqfs by providing their supplies. The waqfs other than real estate waqfs were generally established to serve the second aim. The cash waqfs which had many different functions constituted the majority of these waqfs which provided indirect services. These waqfs had been more active in meeting minimum needs of the society in accordance with its social situation and in producing goods and services for this purpose. The waqfs were the part of charity works within Islamic civilization and helped to fulfill financial requirements of Islam. They had a unique composition and a unique method of operation. Nevertheless, a rich theoretical and practical corpus was created around this organization, beginning from the codification period of the fiqh. Waqfs were non-profit instiutions; they were not supposed to create any financial gain for their founders. They would work only to meet the needs of the society. Especially, with the widespread use of cash waqfs, waqfs had an important place in economic life to realize this aim. Within this rich cultural heritage, it is possible to find money operation methods in cash waqfs similar to those in other financial institutions. In this article, money operating methods of cash waqfs will be studied.

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