Waqf as a means of protecting the interest of destitute relatives who are non-legal heirs

Islam guarantees all rights to everyone within certain limitations. Such rights include fundamental rights and rights in family relationship for instance rights to filial relationship and rights to inheritance or succession. Nevertheless, there are a group of descendants or relatives who have no rights to inheritance such as the non-legal heirs or legal heirs who are not inheriting due to certain situations like being excluded from inheritance. For example, some relatives of the deceased from mother’s or female’s side (zawul arham). It will be worst if those relatives are destitute and poor. In such circumstances, Islamic law provides many other alternatives (other than succession’s right) to protect the needs of destitute or poor families which include waqf, zakah, nafaqah, sadaqah, wasiyyah and hibah. This paper deals with waqf as one of the means of protecting the interest of destitute relatives who are not inheriting or non-legal heirs. The paper will examine among others on destitute relatives who are not entitled to inheritance under Islamic law and whether waqf to destitute relatives from non-legal heir is similar to waqf to the poor and needy in general. Examination extends to the significant of waqf as one of the means to protect the relatives’ needs to property and relevant provisions under the Islamic law Enactment in Malaysia. The research will adopt qualitative research where the research will be mainly done in library. Finally, the paper will propose waqf as a means of security to the destitute relatives who are not inheriting and non-legal heirs where relevant and necessary