ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the supervision of Islamic waqfs. One of the weaknesses of the waqf system is the absence of efficient supervision over its administration. This weakness was easily exploited by the mutawalls for personal gain from waqf resources; it also caused waqfs to fall into neglect. The chapter examines the degree of corruption within waqfs on the basis of complaints by beneficiaries against mutawalls. Committees of identical composition were also set up to investigate charges by beneficiaries against mutawalls for neglect or unauthorized renovation or construction work. Neglect tended to go hand-in-hand with mismanagement, since the mutawalls and, at times, the beneficiaries expected to make an immediate profit at the expense of the future. This shows that the corruption was not as entrenched in the period discussed here as in earlier eras, when it was suspected that qs and powerful, high-ranking officials were partners in corruption.
