How to endow?

The Waqf Directorate as an institution of the Islamic Community in BiH, in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Community and the normative acts regulating the management and disposal of waqf property, pays great attention to new endowments as well as to the establishment of a unified waqf system in BiH. It is pleasing that the Waqf Directorate records new endowments daily, whether in the form of monetary funds or real estate. Regardless of the material and political situation, Bosniaks have never stopped dedicating their property to waqf.

However, based on the practice we follow in the field every day, it is necessary from time to time to inform Bosniaks who wish to become waqifs about the waqf establishment process and the procedure that must be followed in accordance with the positive regulations of the Islamic Community. This ensures that the endowment is valid and that the endowed property exists as a waqf, with the waqif officially registered in the unified Book of Waqifs at the Waqf Directorate, which contains the names of all waqifs in BiH.

If someone wishes and intends to dedicate a piece of their real estate to waqf, the first step is to gather the land documentation related to the property. One of the primary conditions for establishing a waqf is that the property to be endowed must be owned by the potential waqif and must not be encumbered by any obligations. This means that in the land registry, the potential waqif must be recorded as the legal owner of the property they intend to dedicate to waqf. The key documents in this regard are the Land Registry Excerpt and the Possession List.

Once this first condition is met and the land documentation is collected, the potential waqif must submit a request for waqf establishment, in which they will declare their free will to dedicate a specific property to waqf. In this declaration, the waqif may, but is not required to, specify conditions for the waqf, including its intended purpose and how it should be used.

When the request or declaration is prepared, along with the land documentation, the potential waqif must submit it to the Majlis of the Islamic Community in the area where the property is located.

The Majlis of the Islamic Community is obligated to review the received request, provide its opinion, and forward the case to the Waqf Directorate for further processing.

The Waqf Directorate, in accordance with the Regulations on Waqf Establishment, carries out the waqf establishment procedure and submits the proposal to the Council of Muftis. Once the Council of Muftis issues a decision or approval for the acceptance of the waqf, the designated property officially becomes a waqf, and the person who endowed it officially becomes a waqif.

After the Council of Muftis grants its approval for the waqf, the representative of the Majlis of the Islamic Community, along with the waqif, visits a notary and signs an agreement based on which the land registry records are updated, officially registering the property as a waqf.

The Waqf Directorate then issues the waqif a formal Waqf Deed (Wakfnama) and records the waqf in the Book of Waqifs, thus completing the waqf establishment procedure.

As can be seen, the entire waqf establishment process is conducted within the institutions of the Islamic Community in BiH. Therefore, if someone decides to become a waqif, it is sufficient to gather the necessary documentation, draft a declaration of waqf, and submit it to the Majlis of the Islamic Community for further processing.

Finally, we wish to emphasize that every Bosniak has a duty to ensure that the property they intend to dedicate to waqf is formally recognized as such. It is the responsibility of Bosniaks to request from the institutions of the Islamic Community access to the Regulations on Waqf Establishment and to ensure full compliance with them.

May Allah, the Almighty, protect us and increase our sustenance!