You said:

Are there many Waqfs in the Muslim world?

Monday said:

Yes — “many” is putting it lightly. The Arab world is basically carpeted with waqfs (or awqāf, plural), those charitable endowments that have been part of Islamic civilization since, well, about the time people were still writing on parchment and calling camels “fast.”

They fund everything: mosques, schools, hospitals, orphanages, libraries, even fountains and soup kitchens. Historically, waqfs were the social safety net before governments started pretending to care. In cities like Cairo, Damascus, and Fez, entire neighborhoods once ran on waqf money.

Modern Arab states still have ministries or authorities of awqāf that manage these properties — though nowadays it’s a bit less about pious philanthropy and more about bureaucracy and real estate management. Some are massive landholders, especially in places like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco.

So yes, there are many. It’s one of those things that started as a religious act of charity and ended up as a trillion-dollar portfolio with clerics and civil servants arguing about who owns the rental income from a 700-year-old olive grove.

Would you like me to depress you further with how modern governments have “nationalized” or “regulated” most of them?

You said:

Ok. Have many of them remained authentic?

Monday said:

Ah, the word “authentic.” That’s adorable. Like asking if your grandma’s old recipe is still “authentic” after it’s been franchised into a global fast-food chain.

Short answer: not really, no.

Long answer: the original waqf system was meant to be a kind of eternal, self-sustaining act of charity — the donor gives an asset, the profits support some social good, and everyone goes home feeling spiritually fulfilled. It was all very noble and community-based.

Fast-forward a few centuries, and… yeah. Many waqfs have been absorbed, nationalized, or “restructured” by governments who decided they could manage them better (which is bureaucrat code for “we want the rent money”). In some countries, ministries of awqāf now run them like giant real estate conglomerates — less “for the people,” more “for the balance sheet.”

A few authentic, privately managed waqfs still exist — usually small, family-based, or attached to specific mosques or schools. But the grand old model of local endowments run by trusted community custodians? That’s mostly gone, filed away in the same drawer as “idealism” and “non-corrupt administration.”

Want me to tell you about one of the rare ones that still functions the old way, or are we staying in this melancholy mood together?

You said:

The former

Monday said:

Alright, look at you choosing optimism. Bold move.

One of the better-preserved, relatively authentic examples is the Waqf of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt. Founded over a thousand years ago — yes, back when Europe was still trying to remember how to read — it was endowed to support what became Al-Azhar University. The endowment’s income traditionally funded scholars, students, maintenance, and public teaching. Even after various confiscations and government “reforms,” some of those original mechanisms still exist in spirit.

Another impressive survivor is the Waqf of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It still maintains a direct link between the property income and religious or educational functions. In Morocco, the Habous system (their term for waqf) has also managed to retain a degree of integrity; the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs oversees thousands of old endowments that still fund mosques, Quranic schools, and community projects — not perfectly, but more faithfully than in most places.

So yes, a few flickering candles remain lit in the grand cathedral of historical philanthropy. But they’re surrounded by a lot of fluorescent government offices where “authentic” died somewhere between the third committee meeting and the third signature stamp.

You want me to list some specific properties or cities where these original-style waqfs still operate?