Mutawalli

One of the key elements in our corporate waqf is Mutawalli. Monzer Kahf (Kahf, 2011) used it as a waqf manager and his/her responsibility is to administer that waqf property to the best interest of the beneficiaries and then to maximize the revenues of the beneficiaries. Based on this definition, a mutawalli will monitor a waqf property in a proper way to ensure the continuity of the existence of the assets and the beneficiaries will continue gain the ‘manfaah’ of the said property. The second part of the definition given by Monzer Kahf catered for the latest corporate waqf concept in which a mutawalli is not only a waqf keeper but he is also responsible to act in a corporate style in order to increase the value of the assets and to enhance the cash inflow of the institution and thus will maximize the revenues of the beneficiaries.

In Islam, the function and position of Mutawallis are clearly defined. His role is as a manager to manage the waqf properties is crystal clear and it is totally different compared to the other religion’s trustee concept which the role and position are not clear.

While these individuals were the ones who actually preserved the Islamic architectural heritage through the centuries and enabled many waqf to survive, it was also they who ended up being accused ruthlessly and held responsible for the demise of the system (Cizakca, 2011). In another words, Mutawallis are the nucleus in the waqf system, the success of the system is partly contributed by this center. However, the opponent of the waqf system would propagate that the failure of the system was due to the failure of the Mutawallis. Since then, the mutawallis can be considered as a captain of a ship or a pilot of a flight which the destination of a journey will safely arrive. Hiccups in a journey will first reflecting a pilot skills even it is totally caused by the weather condition.