ABSTRACT
One of the weaknesses of the waqf system is the absence of efficient supervision over its administration. The sharīʿa rules entrust the qāḍīs with supervisory powers, but neither the Ottoman nor the Mandatory government gave them the means to discharge this duty. Neither did they devise auditing rules to ensure sound management. Accordingly, qāḍīs had to rely on complaints from beneficiaries. This weakness was easily exploited by the mutawallīs for personal gain from waqf resources; it also caused waqfs to fall into neglect. Cases of corruption or neglect have given the waqf the image of a declining and mismanaged institution. 1 Modern Muslim governments sometimes mention this when arguing that the waqf should be abolished. However, this negative image has not yet been empirically studied by drawing on primary waqf sources.
