Hungry for housing: waqf real estate development - a social welfare alternative

Islam has outlined 4 important elements to achieve fruitful life in the duniya and the akhirah. A famed hadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) meaning “Four things that will bring joy to a person, which is (owning) a pious woman (wife), a good house (spacious), a good neighbour, and a great vehicle” (Hadith narrated by Ibnu Hibban. It is clear from this hadith that Islam emphasised ownership of a comfortable home. The polemic remains that with skyrocketing housing prices in the market, would the low and middle income groups afford housing that is safe, comfortable and secure? Realising the importance of living in a secure and safe house, this study aims at investigating the possibility of leveraging the upward trend of waqf real estate development in empowering the Muslims’ economy in the country. Towards this end, the authors have conducted a study by collating primary and secondary data obtained from the Penang State Islamic Religious Council (Majlis Agama Islam Pulau Pinang) for analysis. Thus the Penang Islamic Council is the study site. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 2 waqf officials who are in charge of coordinating waqf real estate developments in Penang. Based on the study conducted, it was found that Penang State Islamic Religious Council has succeeded in enhancing value added to waqf real estate developments through the implementation of 9 housing project developments using the ijarah concept. The Penang State Islamic Religious Council has enabled the low medium income groups to stay in comfortable and safe housing by utilising such holistic and efficient waqf product developments under shariah guidelines.