The effort of selected public and private universities to develop Awqaf property in Malaysia

Waqf has been practised by muslims since the time of the holy prophet muhammad time. the practice continues today,covering various sectors and fields. one of the sectors in which waqf is practised is education. education is one of the basic needs of people,but not all can afford to pursue their studies to tertiary level. in malaysia,some public and private universities have initiated efforts to develop awqaf properties with the intention of helping poor and needy students,among others. in addition,waqf can also be used to finance other beneficial projects,the returns being channelled to other beneficial purposes that are allowed by sharia. this paper is a conceptual paper,with data gathered from interviews and articles published in journals,conference proceedings,books and universities' official website. the data show that among higher education institutions,five public and four private institutions had established a waqf fund. they established the waqf fund with the aim of helping poor and needy students. usufructs or returns from awqaf funds have been channelled into scholarships and research grants,to build facilities and to find academic projects to benefit the universities. © universiti putra malaysia press.