Who Is Responsible for the Interpretation of the Endower’s Conditions: An Islamic Perspective

Abstract

The endowment contract involves the donation of profit from assets to charitable causes. It is a contract that may need close interpretation, as conditions included by the endower may be worded ambiguously. This can lead to disputes that disrupt the use of or even freeze endowment assets. Hence, this research aims to determine who is responsible for interpreting an endower's conditions, and who is accountable in the event of an interpreter’s mistake. This study used inductive reasoning to reach several conclusions: the judiciary should be the official body to interpret the conditions of an endower, judicial rulings on the interpretations should be subject to the scrutiny of higher courts, and only judges with the highest levels of competence should be chosen to adjudicate on endowment disputes. The study recommends that endowment contract laws should be periodically updated to ensure their ongoing validity and general applicability and that a system of circuit courts be used to hear and rule on endowment disputes. KEYWORDS Administrator, beneficiaries, custom, judicial interpretation, sharia courts, waqf contract