Cash awkaf, or more precisely cash awqaf, are a form of waqf (pl. awqaf) in which the assets assigned as endowment are not physical assets such as buildings and lands, but rather cash. Nazher al-waqf is particularly required, under cash waqf structure, to maintain the waqf assets (cash) from value deterioration, since cash is susceptible to price changes, with its value being subject to higher degrees of volatility relative to the value of real estate holdings and other physical assets. The cash form of waqf was seen by some shari’a scholars as similar to the physical form thereof, and was permitted by them on the basis of shari’a-compatible customary practices (urf). Some other scholars opposed cash waqf on the grounds that cash has no stable value, rendering the waqf fund greatly sensitive to changes in the general price level.
Cash awqaf is also known as awqaf naqdiyyah (أوقاف نقدية).
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