- Waqf Board Income and Land Issues Raise Questions of Accountability Debate
- Sources of income under scrutiny as tenants and land grabbers exploit properties
Who Benefits From Waqf | Hyderabad, September 4: The functioning of the State Waqf Board has once again come under the scanner, with growing concerns about its income sources and the misuse of its properties.
Questions are being raised over how tenants, land grabbers, and inept management have weakened the financial strength of the Board, which was originally created to serve community welfare, asks Ilyas Shamshi.
The primary income sources of the Waqf Board include rents collected from tenants occupying Waqf properties, and other institutional assets.
However, critics argue that despite the one’s vast land holdings under its control, the Board’s revenue remains disproportionately low.
Tenants, instead of paying rents at par with current market rates, continue to pay outdated amounts, depriving the Board of much-needed funds.
“The tenant and the land grabbers should remember that this is the land for Allah (SWT),” a pointed observation made by Waqf Activist Osman Al Hajri highlights the moral obligation tied to these assets.
Who Benefits from Waqf lands? Tenants benefit while the Board earns less:
Concerns have also been raised about agents and middlemen who exploit the system for personal gain. Presently, tenants of Waqf lands are reportedly earning far more from these properties than the Waqf Board itself. The imbalance is evident, while tenants profit from prime real estate, the Board struggles to meet even its administrative expenses.
Who Benefits from Waqf?
Calls have been made urging tenants, who themselves are followers of Islam, to fulfill their responsibilities by paying fair rents. Only then, it is argued, can the Board generate sufficient revenue to sustain its employees and expand welfare activities in serving religious, charitable, and social welfare needs, especially of the underprivileged.
Osman Al Hajir quoted the primary hadith on Waqf from Sahih Bukhari is narrated by Ibn Umar, where the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) advisedUmar ibn Al-Khattab (rz) to give his valuable land in Khaibar as an endowment (waqf), specifying that it should not be sold, gifted, or inherited, but its produce should be used for charity, benefiting the poor, relatives, and for other good causes, with the trustee allowed to benefit from it moderately without hoarding. The Hadith (Source: Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 32, Hadith 2737).
Land grabs weaken Waqf’s mandate
Since the formation of the Waqf Board, large tracts of its land have been grabbed, encroached upon, or misused.
Over time, tenants and encroachers have earned more than the Board and its staff itself, weakening its capacity to implement the “manshah-e-waqf”, the original purpose of these endowments, meant for the betterment of the Muslim community.
Community voices are now demanding accountability, urging authorities to take corrective steps. “Who is responsible for this? Time is clicking… one should answer,” reflects the growing sentiment of frustration over decades of neglect.
The debate underscores a pressing need: before expanding its workforce or taking on new projects, the Waqf Board must first secure its income sources. Restoring control over encroached lands, updating rents to current levels, and enforcing accountability could be the first steps toward ensuring that the Waqf truly serves its intended beneficiaries.
The chairman, Board members and the officials should end their conflicts for the betterment of the Muslim community, and one should remember that they will return to Allah (SWT) and has to answer each and everything, warns Ilyas Shamsi.
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