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106-619: Ibn Jubayr was born in 1145 in Valencia , Spain, to an Arab family of the Kinanah tribe. He was a descendant of 'Abdal-Salam ibn Jabayr, who, in 740 AD, had accompanied an army sent by the caliph of Damascus to put down a Berber uprising in his Spanish provinces . Ibn Jubayr studied in the town of Xàtiva , where his father worked as a civil servant. He later became secretary to the Almohad governor of Granada . Ibn Jubayr does not explain

212-455: A waqf must be objects of a valid contract. The objects should not themselves be haram (e.g. wine or pork ). These objects should not already be in the public domain: public property cannot be used to establish a waqf. The founder cannot also have pledged the property previously to someone else. These conditions are generally true for contracts in Islam. The property dedicated to waqf

318-668: A caliphal title . However, he was killed in a battle with the Christians near Albacete on 5 February. Ibn 'Iyad was killed in August 1147, but before he died he managed to pass the command of Valencia's forces to Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Mardanish , known simply as Ibn Mardanish. Ibn Mardanish made himself ruler of the eastern part of al-Andalus ( Sharq al-Andalus or the Levante ). He based himself in Murcia and placed Valencia under

424-598: A long siege of the city , completely surrounding it, burning nearby villages, and confiscating the crops of the surrounding countryside. Ibn Jahhaf agreed at one point to pay tribute to El Cid in order to end the siege, which resulted in the Almoravids in the city being escorted out by El Cid's men. For reasons that remain unclear, an Almoravid relief army approached Valencia in September 1093 but then retreated without engaging El Cid. Ibn Jahhaf continued negotiations. In

530-467: A waqf and a trust, "property is reserved, and its usufruct appropriated, for the benefit of specific individuals, or for a general charitable purpose; the corpus becomes inalienable ; estates for life in favor of successive beneficiaries can be created" and "without regard to the law of inheritance or the rights of the heirs; and continuity is secured by the successive appointment of trustees or mutawillis ." The only significant distinction between

636-768: A desperate attempt to confront them at the Battle of the Puig (known as the Battle of Anisha in Arabic sources), where he was firmly defeated. James I began the final siege of Valencia on 23 April 1238. Zayyan sent his vizier, Ibn al-Abbar , to Tunis to enlist the aid of the Hafsid dynasty there, but the small fleet subsequently sent by the Hafsids was prevented from landing by Catalan ships. The city surrendered on 29 September. Zayyan

742-464: A fiery blast of great violence bursts out from air-holes in the two mountains and makes the fire. Often a great stone is cast up and thrown into the air by the force of the blast and prevented thereby from falling and settling at the bottom. This is one of the most remarkable of stories, and it is true. As for the great mountain in the island, known as the Jabal al-Nar [Mountain of Fire], it also presents

848-474: A highly-detailed and graphic description of the places he visited during his travels. The book differs from other contemporary accounts in not being a mere collection of toponyms and descriptions of monuments but containing observation of geographical details as well as cultural, religious and political matters. Particularly interesting are his notes about the declining faith of his fellow Muslims in Palermo after

954-581: A light tax on the fruit of their trees. The houses and all their effects are left to their full possession. All the coastal cities occupied by the Franks are managed in this fashion, their rural districts, the villages and farms, belong to the Muslims. But their hearts have been seduced, for they observe how unlike them in ease and comfort are their brethren in the Muslim regions under their (Muslim) governors. This

1060-459: A man dies, only three deeds will survive him: continuing alms, profitable knowledge, and a child praying for him." Islamic law places several legal conditions on the process of establishing a waqf . A waqf is a contract; therefore, the founder (called al-wāqif or al-muḥabbis in Arabic) must be capable of entering into a contract. For this, the founder must: Although waqf

1166-633: A means to legally safeguard properties under conditions of debt. In donating assets to the public, the aristocracy managed to preserve their wealth while providing land, financial support and community spaces such as mosques to the general public. When Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890, almost half the island was waqf property. In order to establish control, the British realised that they would either have to privatise waqf or gain administrative control over them. A series of decrees were subsequently issues to incorporate all waqf properties into

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1272-603: A new government under the helm of the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). An important part of the revolution was the prosecution of the Zanzibari elite of Arabic descent. This left a significant portion of land, much of which was waqf , to be nationalised by the newly independent state as part of their socialist development programme. The revolution highlights a crucial turn point in waqf institutions in Zanzibar, namely

1378-577: A perpetual element; the waqf must specify its beneficiaries in case. The declaration of founding is usually a written document, accompanied by a verbal declaration, though neither are required by most scholars. Whatever the declaration, most scholars (those of the Hanafi, Shafi'i, some of the Hanbali and the Imami Shi'a schools) hold that it is not binding and irrevocable until actually delivered to

1484-596: A second wave of Taifa statelets. In Valencia, the Almoravid governor at this time was 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ghaniya (of the Banu Ghaniya family). The local qadi , Marwan ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, attempted to assuage growing popular hostility towards the Almoravid regime. By March 1145, popular opinion, as well as sentiment among the Andalusi soldiers in particular, was firmly set against the Almoravids and Marwan

1590-399: A siege of the city by the veteran Almoravid commander, Mazdali , in the early spring of 1102. In April–May, Jimena and the Christians who wished to leave the city were evacuated with the help of Alfonso VI. The Almoravids occupied the city after them. As Almoravid authority disintegrated during the 1140s, local communities in al-Andalus once again took matters into their own hands, creating

1696-455: A singular feature in that some years a fire pours from it in the manner of the `bursting of the dam'. It passes nothing it does not burn until, coming to the sea, it rides out on its surface and then subsides beneath it. Let us praise the Author of all things for His marvelous creations. There is no God but He. Also striking Ibn Jubayr was the city of Palermo , which he described as follows: It

1802-651: A soup kitchen, and two traveler and pilgrim inns. The earliest pious foundations in Egypt were charitable gifts, and not in the form of a waqf . The first mosque built by ' Amr ibn al-'As is an example of this: the land was donated by Qaysaba bin Kulthum , and the mosque's expenses were then paid by the Bayt al-mal . The earliest known waqf , founded by financial official Abū Bakr Muḥammad bin Ali al-Madhara'i in 919 (during

1908-400: A source of charity and thereby public welfare while doubling as a tool of domination used by the ruling class to maintain the dependence of the lower classes. While the former was somewhat preserved as a scripture-based normative foundation of waqf institutions, the nature and dynamics of the latter was contingent on the nature and dynamics of regime changes in Zanzibar. Under Omani rule, waqf

2014-764: A thing to stop or stand still. According to Islamic law, once an asset has been donated as waqf it cannot be sold, transferred or given as a gift. Once a waqif has verbally or in writing declared a waqf property, it is legally conceived as the property of Allah and must be used to "fulfill public of family needs" as a charitable social service. A waqf property can fall into one of two categories: movable or immovable. A 'movable' asset includes money or shares which are used to finance educational, religious or cultural institutions such as madrasahs (Islamic schools) or mosques . The madrasahs and mosques themselves are an example of an 'immovable' asset which refers to land or structures open for public use. An important function of

2120-602: Is 33,229. In the 16th century, the Haseki Sultan Complex charitable complex was founded by the wife of Suleyman the Magnificent and serviced 26 villages; the institution also included shops, a bazaar, two soap plants, 11 flour mills and two bathhouses located in Ottoman Syria and Lebanon . For several centuries, the income generated by these businesses contributed in the maintenance of a mosque,

2226-572: Is a wonderful place, built in the Cordova style, entirely from cut stone known as kadhan [a soft limestone]. A river splits the town, and four springs gush in its suburbs.... The King roams through the gardens and courts for amusement and pleasure... The Christian women of this city follow the fashion of Muslim women, are fluent of speech, wrap their cloaks about them, and are veiled. Ibn Jubayr also travelled to Medina , Mecca , Damascus , Mosul , Acre and Baghdad . At Basra , he saw how Indian timber

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2332-433: Is an Islamic institution, being a Muslim is not required to establish a waqf , and dhimmis may establish a waqf . Finally, if a person is fatally ill, the waqf is subject to the same restrictions as a will in Islam. Some of the founders of Ottoman waqfs were women, with their establishments having a crucial impact on their communities' economic life. Out of 30,000 waqf certificates documented by

2438-676: Is certainly well known to Allah." Their formal conception in Islamic society has been derived from a number of hadiths . It is said that during the time of Muhammad, after the Hijrah , the first waqf was composed of a grove of 600 date palms. The proceeds of this waqf were meant to feed Medina's poor. In one tradition, it is said that: "Ibn Umar reported, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab got land in Khaybar , so he came to Muhammad and asked him to advise him about it. Muhammad said, 'If you like, make

2544-547: Is confusion between certain pairs of letters. The complete Arabic text was first published in 1852 by the orientalist William Wright . An updated edition was published in 1907 by Michael Jan de Goeje . A translation into Italian by Celestino Schiaparelli was published in 1906, a translation into English by Ronald Broadhurst was published in 1952, and a translation into French by Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes appeared in three volumes between 1949 and 1956. Taifa of Valencia The Taifa of Valencia ( Arabic : طائفة بلنسية )

2650-702: Is dedicated by the Donor ( Wakif ) for the benefit of their kith and kin and for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable. After the enactment Wakf Act 1954, the Union government directed to all the states governments to implement the Act for administering the wakf institutions like mosques, dargahs , hussainiyas , graveyards, takhiyas , eidgah , anjumans , and various religious and charitable institutions. A statutory body under Government of India, which also oversees State Wakf Boards . In turn

2756-636: Is difficult to pinpoint the historical origins of waqf in East Africa, the practice began to formalize in the 17th Century after the Sultan of Oman, Sayyid Saïd , had cemented his control over Zanzibar and the East African coastline. Until this point, archeological evidence has unearthed several old mosques along the Swahili Coast which are believed to be informal waqf dating as far back as

2862-400: Is generally immovable, such as an estate. All movable goods can also form waqf , according to most Islamic jurists. The Hanafis, however, also allow most movable goods to be dedicated to a waqf with some restrictions. Some jurists have argued that even gold and silver (or other currency) can be designated as waqf . Documents listing endowments (waqfiyyas) often include the name of

2968-598: Is one of the misfortunes afflicting the Muslims. The Muslim community bewails the injustice of the landlord of its own faith, and applauds the conduct of its opponent and enemy, the Frankish landlord, and is accustomed to justice from him. Jubayr traveled to the East on two further occasions (1189–1191 and 1217) without leaving an account. He died on 29 November 1217 in Alexandria, during the second trip. Ibn Jubayr provides

3074-482: Is synonymous with ḥabs ( حَبْس , also called ḥubs حُبْس or ḥubus حُبْوس and commonly rendered habous in French). Habs and similar terms are used mainly by Maliki jurists. In Twelver Shiism , ḥabs is a particular type of waqf , in which the founder reserves the right to dispose of the waqf property. The person making the grant is called al-waqif (or al-muhabbis ) while

3180-470: Is the institution(s) providing services as committed in the vakıf deed, such as madrasas , public kitchens ( imarets ), karwansarays , mosques, libraries, etc. Generally, the waqf must fulfill three primary constraints: Although there is no direct Quranic injunction regarding waqf , it can be inferred from Surah Al-i'-Imran (3:92): "You will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish. And whatever you give

3286-429: Is the metropolis of these islands, combining the benefits of wealth and splendor, and having all that you could wish of beauty, real or apparent, and all the needs of subsistence, mature and fresh. It is an ancient and elegant city, magnificent and gracious, and seductive to look upon. Proudly set between its open spaces and plains filled with gardens, with broad roads and avenues, it dazzles the eyes with its perfection. It

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3392-434: The waqf during their lifetime. In some cases, however, the number of beneficiaries is quite limited. Thus, there is no need for an administrator, and the beneficiaries themselves can take care of the waqf . The administrator, like other persons of responsibility under Islamic law, must have the capacity to act and contract. In addition, trustworthiness and administrative skills are required. Some scholars require that

3498-418: The waqf system depended on several hadiths and presented elements similar to practices from pre-Islamic cultures, it seems that the specific full-fledged Islamic legal form of endowment called waqf dates from the 9th century AD (see § History and location below). In Sunni jurisprudence, waqf , also spelled wakf ( Arabic : وَقْف ; plural أَوْقاف , awqāf ; Turkish : vakıf )

3604-603: The Abbasid period ), is a pond called Birkat Ḥabash together with its surrounding orchards, whose revenue was to be used to operate a hydraulic complex and feed the poor. Early references to waqf in India can be found in the 14th-century work Insha-i-Mahru by Aynul Mulk ibn Mahru. According to the book, Muhammad of Ghor dedicated two villages in favor of a congregational mosque in Multan , and, handed its administration to

3710-572: The Almoravids in 1102. Following the collapse of Almoravid power, Valencia became independent again in 1145. From 1147 to 1172, it was under the control of Ibn Mardanish , after which it was annexed by the Almohads . When the Almohads reatreated from al-Andalus, Valencia became independent once again from around 1229 to 1238 under the rule of Zayyan ibn Mardanish . It was finally conquered by

3816-472: The Almoravids , who had recently captured Murcia to the south. They sent a small group of warriors to the city, forcing the Castilian garrison to leave. Al-Qadir was captured and executed. However, the Almoravids did not send enough forces to oppose El Cid's return and Ibn Jahhaf undermined his popular support by proceeding to install himself as ruler, acting like yet another Taifa king. El Cid began

3922-527: The Crown of Aragon in 1238. Waqf A waqf ( Arabic : وَقْف ; [ˈwɑqf] , plural awqaf أَوْقَاف ), also called a ḥabs ( حَبْس , plural ḥubūs حُبوس or aḥbās أَحْباس ), or mortmain property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law . It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming

4028-567: The Crown of Aragon in 1238. Valencia was one of many cities in al-Andalus (in present-day Spain and Portugal) that became independent during the Fitna , a destructive civil war after 1008 that ended the Caliphate of Córdoba . As centralized authority collapsed in the caliphate's provinces, local rulers formed their own small states or principalities known to historians as Taifas . Valencia had already enjoyed urban and economic growth since

4134-775: The Shaykh al-Islām (highest ecclesiastical officer of the Empire). In the coming years, several more waqf were created, as the Delhi Sultanate flourished. As per the Wakf Act 1954 (later Wakf Act 1995) enacted by the government of India, waqf are categorized as (a) waqf by user such as graveyards, Musafir Khanas (Sarai) and Chowltries etc., (b) waqf under Mashrutul-khidmat (Service Inam) such as Khazi service, Nirkhi service, Pesh Imam service and Khateeb service etc., and (c) Wakf Alal-aulad

4240-511: The Sphinx . He also saw a device that was used to measure the height of the Nile flood. In Sicily , at the very late stages of his travels (December 1184 to January 1185), Ibn Jubayr recounted other experiences. He commented on the activity of the volcanoes: At the close of night a red flame appeared, throwing up tongues into the air. It was the celebrated volcano ( Stromboli ). We were told that

4346-417: The 'public' ownership of these assets that disposed of the need for a waqif . In this way, waqf was further cemented as a political institution regulated by a centralized state while being managed by mutawallis . It allowed the poorest inhabitants of Stone Town to reside in waqf buildings that were previously reserved for the relatives of waqif families. While this may appear to be an act of good fortune,

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4452-492: The 8th Century. The formalization of waqf can be traced back to 1820 when Sultan Said moved the Omani Sultanate to Stone Town, Zanzibar. This marked a shift from waqf as an Islamic scriptural imperative to a local and centralized institutional practice legitimated by the royal family. From this point onward, the urban development of the port city of the East African archipelago was shaped by waqf practices. As such,

4558-743: The 9th century, while a third one dates from the early 10th century, all three within the Abbasid Period. The oldest dated waqfiya goes back to 876 CE and concerns a multi-volume edition of the Qur'an currently held by the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul . A possibly older waqfiya is a papyrus held by the Louvre Museum in Paris , with no written date but considered to be from

4664-575: The Almohad elites and maintained some influence in Valencia. Almohad rule in al-Andalus began to collapse after 1212 and the Almohad caliph Idris al-Ma'mun withdrew from the region in 1228. The last Almohad governor of the city, Abu Zayd , was so vulnerable that in 1226 he signed a treaty with James I of Aragon to pay tribute. This made him unpopular and he was overthrown by a rebellion in late 1228 or early 1229. The remaining Almohads departed and it

4770-467: The Almohads during this time, but they were eventually expelled by the latter. Ibn Mardanish managed to hold on to power after this in part by allying himself with Castile, which supplied him with military assistance against the Almohads. Only after he died in 1172 did the Almohads take his kingdom, with little opposition. Although not much is known about the family and descendants of Ibn Mardanish under Almohad rule, they appear to have been integrated into

4876-572: The Christians in a narrow pass located between the mountains and the sea, but El Cid managed to rally his troops and repel the Almoravids yet again. In 1097, the Almoravid governor of Xativa, Ali ibn al-Hajj, led another incursion into Valencian territory but was quickly defeated and pursued to Almenara , which El Cid then captured after a three-month siege. In 1097, the Almoravid ruler himself, Yusuf Ibn Tashfin , led another army into al-Andalus. Setting out from Cordoba with Muhammad ibn al-Hajj as his field commander, he marched against Alfonso VI, who

4982-623: The GDPFA ( General Directorate of Pious Foundation in Ankara ), over 2,300 of them were registered to institutions that belonged to women. Of the 491 public fountains in Istanbul that were constructed during the Ottoman period and survived until the 1930s, nearly 30% of them were registered under waqfs that belonged to women. The property (called al-mawqūf or al-muḥabbas ) used to found

5088-519: The Islamic waqf and English trust was "the express or implied reversion of the waqf to charitable purposes when its specific object has ceased to exist", though this difference only applied to the waqf ahli (Islamic family trust) rather than the waqf khairi (devoted to a charitable purpose from its inception). Another difference was the English vesting of "legal estate" over the trust property in

5194-424: The Islamic waqf law and madrassah foundations were firmly established by the 10th century, the number of Bimaristan hospitals multiplied throughout Islamic lands. By the 11th century, many Islamic cities had several hospitals. The waqf trust institutions funded the hospitals for various expenses, including the wages of doctors, ophthalmologists , surgeons, chemists , pharmacists , domestics and all other staff,

5300-606: The Middle East. Passages copied from Ibn Jubayr are also found in the writings of al-Sharishi, al-Abdari and Al-Maqrizi . A surviving copy of Ibn Jubayr's manuscript is preserved in the collection of the Leiden University Library . The 210-page manuscript was produced in Mecca in 875 AH (1470 AD) and appears to have been written at high speed: diacritic marks are often missing, words are omitted and there

5406-470: The Muslim world. In West Africa, very few examples of the institution can be found, and were usually limited to the area around Timbuktu and Djenné in Massina Empire . Instead, Islamic west African societies placed a much greater emphasis on non-permanent acts of charity. According to expert Illife, this can be explained by West Africa's tradition of "personal largesse." The imam would make himself

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5512-493: The Nile did not flood enough, Saladin remitted the land tax from the farmers. He also said that "such is his (Salahuddin's) justice, and the safety he has brought to his high-roads that men in his lands can go about their affairs by night and from its darkness apprehend no awe that should deter them". Ibn Jubayr, on the other hand, was very disparaging of the previous Shi'a dynasty of the Fatimids . Of Cairo , Ibn Jubayr noted,

5618-595: The North African coast. He arrived in Alexandria on March 26. Everywhere that Ibn Jubayr traveled in Egypt , he was full of praise for the new Sunni ruler, Saladin . For example, he said, "There is no congregational or ordinary mosque, no mausoleum built over a grave, nor hospital, nor theological college, where the bounty of the Sultan does not extend to all who seek shelter or live in them". He pointed out that when

5724-519: The State Wakf Boards work towards management, regulation and protect the Wakf properties by constituting District Wakf Committees, Mandal Wakf Committees and Committees for the individual Wakf Institutions. As per the report of Sachar Committee (2006) there are about 500,000 registered Wakfs with 600,000 acres (2,400 km ) land in India, and Rs. 60 billion book value. While it

5830-508: The administrator of this Islamic religious institution be a Muslim, though the Hanafis drop this requirement. A waqf is intended to be perpetual and last forever. Nevertheless, Islamic law envisages conditions under which the waqf may be terminated: The practices attributed to Muhammad have promoted the institution of waqf from the earliest part of Islamic history. The two oldest known waqfiya (deed) documents are from

5936-560: The architectural configuration of Stone Town was entirely managed by the Sultanate and its network of nobility. This effectively allowed elites to practice zakat through waqf while doubling as a means to secure control over the local population. The East African archipelago underwent an economic recession from 1860 to 1880 that threatened the private property of the elite class. In a time when landowners were forced to sell or mortgage their properties to foreign investors, waqf became

6042-409: The assets. A charitable trust may hold the donated assets. The person making such dedication is known as a waqif ('donor') who uses a mutawalli ('trustee') to manage the property in exchange for a share of the revenues it generates. A waqf allows the state to provide social services in accordance with Islamic law while contributing to the preservation of cultural and historical sites. Although

6148-412: The beneficiaries or put to their use. Once in their use, however, the waqf becomes an institution in its own right. Usually, a waqf has a range of beneficiaries. Thus, the founder makes arrangements beforehand by appointing an administrator (called nāẓir or mutawallī or ḳayyim ) and lays down the rules for appointing successive administrators. The founder may choose to administer

6254-542: The city walls in October 1094 and began a siege. The siege ended when El Cid launched a two-sided attack: he sent a sortie from one city gate that posed as his main force, occupying the Almoravid troops, while he personally led another force from a different city gate and attacked their undefended camp. After his victory, El Cid executed Ibn Jahhaf by burning him alive in public, perhaps in retaliation for treachery. El Cid fortified his new kingdom by building fortresses along

6360-413: The city's Jews and Christians . He noted that there were between 8,000 and 12,000 mosques in Alexandria. After a stay of eight days, he set off to Cairo . He reached Cairo three days later. In the city, he visited the cemetery at al-Qarafah , which contained the graves of many important figures in the history of Islam . He noted that under Saladin, the walls of the citadel were being extended with

6466-482: The city, he visited the Lighthouse of Alexandria , which was then still standing, and he was amazed by its size and splendor. One of the greatest wonders that we saw in this city was the lighthouse which Great and Glorious God had erected by the hands of those who were forced to such labor as 'Indeed in that are signs for those who discern'. Quran 15:75 and as a guide to voyagers, for without it they could not find

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6572-547: The city. 'Abd al-Malik turned for aid to al-Ma'mun , the ruler of the Taifa of Toledo , but the latter took the opportunity to seize control of Valencia for himself in 1065. Al-Ma'mun installed his own vizier, Abu Bakr ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, as governor of the city. After al-Ma'mun's death in 1075, his less capable son Yahya al-Qadir became ruler of Toledo. Under his rule, Valencia began to slip from Toledo's control and his own kingdom became so troubled that he had to rely on Alfonso VI of Castile and Léon for support. Eventually,

6678-407: The collector and distributor of charity, thus building his personal prestige. According to Hamas, all of historic Palestine is an Islamic waqf. This belief, a relatively recent one, forms part of the group's mythology. In Southeastern Europe , there are several places in Bosnia and Herzegovina that were originally built under the waqf system, such as Gornji Vakuf , and Donji Vakuf . After

6784-472: The colleges and hostels that were erected for students and pious men of other lands by the Saladin. In those colleges, students found lodging and tutors to teach them the sciences that they desired as well as also allowances to cover their needs. The care of the sultan also granted them baths, hospitals, and the appointment of doctors, who could even come to visit them at their place of stay who would be answerable for their cure. One of Saladin's other generous acts

6890-460: The colonial bureaucracy. The Waqf Property Decree which formed the Waqf Commission in 1905 was composed of a majority of British officials and a minority of Islamic authorities to represent the Sultanate who maintained a degree of influence over the island. This shift marked the further formalization of waqf into the state apparatus, a move which allowed the English to directly control the preservation and maintenance of publicly used assets as well as

6996-446: The creative travelogue. It is a mix of personal narrative, description of the areas traveled and personal anecdotes. Ibn Jubayr's travel chronicle served as a model for later authors, some of whom copied from it without attribution. Ibn Juzayy , who wrote the account of Ibn Battuta 's travels in around 1355 AD, copied passages that had been written 170 years earlier by Ibn Jubayr that described Damascus, Mecca, Medina and other places in

7102-497: The economic function of the practice. After the British gained control of Zanzibar and further formalized waqf as a political institution, it was used to culturally subvert the local population and gradually rid it off its Arabic origins. This persisted after independence when the newly independent state sought to further eliminate Arabic influence by nationalizing all waqf properties as a means to gain control of private property. The waqf institutions were not popular in all parts of

7208-406: The elite class of the Omani aristocracy. In the context of growing inequality, the nobility used waqf to provide public housing to slaves and peasants as well mosques, madrasahs and land for free habitation and cultivation. For instance, all 66 mosques in Stone Town were waqf privately financed and owned by noble waqif as a display of social status and duty to their neighborhood. Under this system,

7314-420: The end, he refused to pay El Cid's tribute and the siege continued. By April 1094, the city was starving and he decided to surrender it shortly after. El Cid re-entered Valencia on 15 June 1094, after 20 months of siege. Rather than ruling through a puppet, as he had done with al-Qadir, he now took direct control as king. The Almoravids returned their attention to Valencia later that year. They arrived outside

7420-405: The endowed assets are called al-mawquf (or al-muhabbas ). In older English-language law-related works in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the word used for waqf was vakouf ; the word, also present in such French works, was used during the time of the Ottoman Empire, and is from the Turkish vakıf . The term waqf literally means 'confinement and prohibition', or causing

7526-503: The endower, the listed property or fiscal unit, the endowed fraction (in 24- qarats ), and a description of its boundary . The boundary descriptions start in Islamic direction of prayer and go counterclockwise by listing different landscape elements. Endowment deeds most often include the conditions of the endowment and its administration. The beneficiaries of the waqf can be individuals and public utilities. The founder can specify which persons are eligible for benefits (such as

7632-486: The fate of 80 Muslim men, women and children who had been abducted from North Africa and were being sold into slavery. Between Sardinia and Sicily , the ship ran into a severe storm. He said of the Italians and Muslims on board who had experience of the sea that "all agreed that they had never in their lives seen such a tempest". After the storm, the ship went on past Sicily and Crete and turned south and crossed over to

7738-438: The field, the Almoravids did not capture any major new towns or fortresses. El Cid attempted to Christianize Valencia during his rule, converting its main mosque into a church and establishing a bishopric , but ultimately failed to attract many new Christian settlers to the city. He died on 10 July 1099, leaving his wife, Jimena Díaz , in charge of the kingdom. She was unable to hold off Almoravid pressures, which culminated in

7844-412: The founder may stipulate that half the proceeds go to their family, while the other half goes to the poor. Valid beneficiaries must satisfy the following conditions: There is dispute over whether the founder themselves can reserve exclusive rights to use waqf . Most scholars agree that once the waqf is founded, it cannot be taken back. The Ḥanafīs hold that the list of beneficiaries includes

7950-459: The founder's family, the entire community, only the poor, travelers). Public utilities such as mosques, schools, bridges, graveyards, and drinking fountains can be the beneficiaries of a waqf . Modern legislation divides the waqf into "charitable causes," where the beneficiaries are the public or the poor, and "family" waqf , where the founder designates their relatives as beneficiaries. There can also be multiple beneficiaries. For example,

8056-634: The governorship of his brother Yusuf. He was vulnerable to Christian forces both to the north and south, but after 1147 the Almohads (who had replaced the Almoravids as the major power in North Africa) presented a more serious threat, having annexed Seville and western al-Andalus. The last Almoravids in al-Andalus remained in Granada until 1155 and the Castilians controlled Almeria until 1157. These two factions acted as buffers between him and

8162-426: The hospitals every day and speak quietly to one another in the patients' hearing, remarking on their improvement and good colour". The waqf in Islamic law , which developed in the medieval Islamic world from the 7th to 9th centuries, bears a notable resemblance to the English trust law . Every waqf was required to have a waqif (founder), mutawillis (trustee), qadi (judge) and beneficiaries. Under both

8268-412: The kingdom: We moved from Tibnin - may God destroy it - at daybreak on Monday. Our way lay through continuous farms and ordered settlements, whose inhabitants were all Muslims, living comfortably within the Franks.... They surrender half their crops to the Franks at harvest time, and pay as well a poll-tax of one dinar and five qirat for each person. Other than that they are not interfered with, save for

8374-481: The latter took control of Toledo altogether in 1085 and then installed al-Qadir in Valencia as his vassal in 1086. Al-Qadir's unpopular rule in Valencia was supported by a Castilian garrison headed by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , a Castilian noble and mercenary better known today as El Cid. In October 1092, when El Cid was away from the city, there was an insurrection and coup d'état led by the qadi (judge) Abu Ahmad Ja'far Ibn Jahhaf . The latter called for help from

8480-653: The latter is also to provide shelter and community spaces to the poor, also known as the mawquf 'alayh (beneficiaries). Bahaeddin Yediyıldız defines waqf as a system comprising three elements: hayrat , akarat , and waqf . Hayrat , the plural form of hayr , means 'goodnesses' and refers to the motivational factor behind the vakıf organization; akarat refers to corpus and literally means 'real estates,' implying revenue-generating sources such as markets ( bedestens , arastas , hans , etc.), land, and baths; and waqf , in its narrow sense,

8586-410: The majority of greater Stone Town became waqf property made available for free habitation or cemeteries by noblemen, approximately 6.4% of which was public housing for the poor. It is important to note that economic changes in Zanzibar shaped waqf practices overtime. Under Omani rule slavery and the cash crop industry was booming, specifically because of the exportation of spices, which strengthened

8692-1156: The mid-9th century. The next oldest document is a marble tablet whose inscription bears the Islamic date equivalent to 913 CE and states the waqf status of an inn, but is in itself not the original deed; it is held at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv . By the early 1800's, more than half of all arable land in the Ottoman Empire was classified as a waqf. In relation to present day countries, this figure included 75 percent of arable land in Turkey , one-fifth in Egypt, one-seventh in Iran, one-half in Algeria, one-third in Tunisia, and one-third in Greece. The total number of registered endowments in Saudi Arabia

8798-447: The nationalisation of all waqf assets led to the loss and destruction of many properties because of a lack of funding because the state did not have the means to preserve waqf as effectively as it were under the private control of waqif nobility. According to Bowen, when practicing Islam, Muslims "engage in a dialogue between potentially conflicting cultural orders: the universalistic imperatives of Islam (as locally understood) and

8904-465: The object of reinforcing the entire city from any future siege by Crusaders . Another work that he saw being built was a bridge over the Nile , which would be high enough not to be submerged in the annual flooding of the river. He saw a spacious free hospital , which was divided into three sections: for men, women and the insane . He saw the pyramids , but he was unaware for whom they had been built, and

9010-494: The property inalienable and give the profit from it to charity.' It goes on to say that Umar gave it away as alms, that the land itself would not be sold, inherited, or donated. He gave it away for the poor, the relatives, the slaves, the jihad , the travelers, and the guests. It will not be held against him who administers it if he consumes some of its yield in an appropriate manner or feeds a friend who does not enrich himself by means of it." In another hadith, Muhammad said, "When

9116-450: The purchase of foods and medicines ; hospital equipment such as beds, mattresses, bowls and perfumes; and repairs to buildings. The waqf trusts also funded medical schools, and their revenues covered various expenses such as their maintenance and the payment of teachers and students. From the more peculiar examples of healthcare-related waqfs, in the city of Tripoli, a man had set up a waqf which employed two people who would "walk through

9222-475: The reason for his travels. It has been suggested that as secretary for the ruler of Granada in 1182, he was threatened into drinking seven cups of wine. Seized by remorse, the ruler then filled seven cups of gold Dinara, which he gave him. To expiate his godless act, although it had been forced upon him, Ibn Jubayr decided to perform the duty of Hajj to Mecca . Robert Irwin has recently argued that dubious provenance aside, this seems an unlikely explanation, as Hajj

9328-661: The recent Norman conquest and about what he perceived as the Muslim-influenced customs of King William II of Sicily under the Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture . Ibn Jubayr is also considered an important source for the study of Muslim subjects within the Frankish states , based on his thirty-two-day stay in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . His writing is a foundation of the genre of work called Rihla , or

9434-402: The same laqab (royal name) as his grandfather and was thus known as al-Mansur. After his death, he was succeeded by his son 'Abd al-Malik , who took the laqab of al-Muzaffar. Due to his young age, his vizier Ibn 'Abd al-Aziz served as regent . Not long after his accession, Ferdinand I of León and Castile attacked Valencia and defeated an army of its defenders, nearly capturing

9540-598: The second half of the 10th century and during the Taifas period of the 11th century it became a major city and political center for the first time since Muslim rule began in 711. Two ṣaqāliba (former slaves) from the Amirid household, called Mubarak and Muzaffar , established the effective independence of Valencia in 1010–1011. They had previously been appointed here as officials in charge of irrigation. Their co-rule ended in 1017–1018, when Mubarak died and Muzaffar

9646-443: The southern approaches to the city to defend against future Almoravid attacks. In late 1096, an Almoravid army of 30,000 men besieged the strongest of these fortresses, Peña Cadiella (just south of Xativa ). El Cid confronted them and called on Aragon for reinforcements. When the reinforcements approached, the Almoravids lifted the siege, but laid a trap for El Cid's forces as they marched back to Valencia. They successfully ambushed

9752-474: The surplus revenues generated from them. It was also part of what Ali Mazrui calls the 'dis-Islamization' and 'de-Arabization' of Swahili culture by British colonialism, a strategy used to rid the territory of Omani influence. While Mazrui speaks of this in the context of the Swahili language, it can also be seen by the way in which the British deviated from the Islamic values underpinning waqf practices. What

9858-449: The true course to Alexandria. It can be seen for more than seventy miles and is of great antiquity. It is most strongly built in all directions and competes with the skies in height. Description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast is the spectacle. He was also impressed by the free colleges, hostels for foreign students, baths and hospitals in the city. They were paid for by awqaf and taxes on

9964-518: The trustee, though the "trustee was still bound to administer that property for the benefit of the beneficiaries." In this sense, the "role of the English trustee therefore does not differ significantly from that of the mutawalli ." Personal trust law developed in England at the time of the Crusades , during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Court of Chancery, under the principles of equity, enforced

10070-438: The values embedded in a particular society". While Bowen analyzes how Islamic rituals are practiced in context, this logic can arguably be applied to how the history of waqf in Zanzibar is shaped by "local cultural concerns and to universalistic scriptural imperatives". In fact, this conflict is evident in the way in which waqf has historically served a dual purpose in Zanzibar; to satisfy the inalienable Islamic law of waqf as

10176-480: Was a descendant of Ibn Mardanish, Zayyan ibn Mardanish , who took control. Zayyan ibn Mardanish formally acknowledged the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad as suzerains and remained independent of Ibn Hud , who emerged as the most powerful leader in al-Andalus during this time, but he was unable to halt the advance of Aragonese conquests from the north. As the latter closed in, occupying nearby Puig in 1236, he made

10282-557: Was a medieval Muslim kingdom which existed in and around Valencia , Spain. It gained independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba circa 1010 and became its own small kingdom, or Taifa , for most of the 11th century. It was absorbed by the Taifa of Toledo in 1065, which in turn fell to Alfonso VI of León and Castile in 1085. From 1094 to 1099, the kingdom was ruled directly by the Castilian military commander known as El Cid , then by his wife Jimena after his death, until being annexed by

10388-413: Was able to retreat and he continued to operate in the region for several more years, even becoming ruler of Murcia from 1239 to 1241. Valencia became part of the Crown of Aragon . Saqlabi non-dynastic rulers: Amirid dynasty : Dhulnunid dynasty : Following the overthrow of al-Qadir: Valencia annexed by the Almoravids in 1102. Valencia annexed by the Almohads in 1172. Valencia annexed by

10494-522: Was carefully used to make Lateen sail ships. He returned in 1185 by way of Sicily . His path was not without troubles, including a shipwreck . On both occasions, he travelled on Genoese ships. Ibn Jubayr spent 32 days in the Christian Crusaders ' Kingdom of Jerusalem . Thirteen of these days were spent anchored in the port of Acre , awaiting a favorable wind. Frequently quoted is Ibn Jubayr's famous description of Muslims prospering in

10600-620: Was expelled. The people of the city chose another ṣaqlabī , Labib , as ruler. He accepted the suzerainty of the Count of Barcelona in return for protection. In around 1021, the kingdom was taken over by 'Abd al-'Aziz , a grandson of the Amirid and former de facto ruler of the caliphate, Ibn Abi Amir al-Mansur (also known as Almanzor). He reigned for 40 years until his death in 1061. During this long period of stability, Valencia enjoyed relative peace and prosperity. 'Abd al-'Aziz employed

10706-467: Was in Toledo at the time. The Castilians were routed at the Battle of Consuegra . El Cid was not involved, but his son, Diego, was killed in the battle. Soon after, the Castilian commander Alvar Fañez was also defeated near Cuenca in battle with another Almoravid army, who followed up this victory by ravaging the lands around Valencia and defeating another army sent by El Cid. Despite these victories in

10812-416: Was initially intended as a charitable practice that would provide social services was replaced by a focus on profit over public welfare. This ruptured the social and political relations that were formed between the upper and lower classes during Omani rule as the underlying values used to manage waqf were lost in translation. The Zanzibari Revolution which followed a year after independence in 1963 installed

10918-442: Was practiced by the aristocratic class as an outward demonstration of Islamic piety while simultaneously serving as a means to control slaves and the local population through social housing, educational facilities and religious institutions like mosques. When an economic recession threatened the position of the elite, noblemen used waqf to maintain ownership of their properties to avoid selling or mortgaging their land thereby altering

11024-430: Was pressured into taking leadership of the city under the title of ra'is . When he proved unable to keep paying the Andalusi soldiers, they deposed him and installed one of their own leaders, Ibd 'Iyad , as ruler. In January 1146, Ibn 'Iyad invited Sayf al-Dawla ibn Hud , son of the last Hudid ruler of the former Taifa of Zaragoza , to take command of Valencia and Murcia. Sayf al-Dawla accepted and laid claim to

11130-531: Was rarely penitential. He left Granada on 3 February 1183 accompanied by a physician from the city. Ibn Jubayr left Granada and crossed over the Strait of Gibraltar to Ceuta , then under Muslim rule. He boarded a Genoese ship on February 24, 1183 and set sail for Alexandria . His sea journey took him past the Balearic Islands and then across to the west coast of Sardinia . Offshore, he heard of

11236-415: Was that every day, 2000 loaves of bread were distributed to the poor. Also impressing Ibn Jubayr in the city was the number of mosques, estimated at between 8,000 and 12,000, with four or five of them often in the same street. Upon arrival at Alexandria , Ibn Jubayr was angered by the customs officials who insisted on taking zakat from the pilgrims, regardless of whether or not they were obliged to pay. In

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