Reconciling Waqf Law and Practice in Malaysia: Introducing a Dual-Mutawalli Framework for Sustainable Asset Management

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_54How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Mutawallī (Trustee); Dual-mutawallī; State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs); Waqf; Malaysia

Abstract

Waqf is a fundamental institution in Islam that plays a vital role in promoting social welfare, economic development and community well-being. The mutawallī (trustee) serves as the key administrator of waqf by overseeing the management and preservation of waqf assets. In Malaysia, the State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) are legally recognised as the sole mutawallī of all waqf properties within their respective states. Consequently, SIRCs bear the primary financial responsibility for maintaining and developing these assets, as wāqif (donors) generally cease their involvement after dedicating their property. This arrangement often places a significant financial burden on SIRCs, particularly when waqf properties require repair, maintenance or redevelopment. As a result, many waqf assets face challenges in achieving their full developmental and socio-economic potential. In contrast, India has adopted a more diversified approach to waqf governance through a dual-mutawallī model, where both individual and institutional trustees play complementary roles. Drawing on this experience, this study proposes the introduction of a similar dual-mutawallī framework in Malaysia. Under the proposed model, individual mutawallī would manage small-scale, family or community-based waqf properties, while institutional mutawallī, such as the SIRCs, would oversee high-value, complex or strategically important waqf assets. A fixed percentage of income generated from waqf properties managed by individual mutawallī would be contributed to institutional mutawallī, creating a pooled fund to support maintenance, development and emergency needs. This shared governance model aims to decentralise waqf administration, distribute financial responsibilities more effectively and strengthen the long-term sustainability of waqf in Malaysia. The study adopts a qualitative, document-based research approach to examine the legal and practical issues surrounding waqf management, assess the challenges currently faced by SIRCs and evaluate the feasibility of implementing the proposed dual-mutawallī framework.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Jawwad Ali
AU  - Mohammad Azam Hussain
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
TI  - Reconciling Waqf Law and Practice in Malaysia: Introducing a Dual-Mutawalli Framework for Sustainable Asset Management
BT  - Proceedings of the UUM 13th International Legal Conference 2025 (UUMILC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 774
EP  - 786
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_54
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_54
ID  - Ali2026
ER  -