INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WAQF AND HIGHER EDUCATION

(ISWHE 2016) ISTANBUL, TURKEY 28 – 30 MAY 2016

Cash Waqfs (CWs) and Financing of Education at Ottoman Experience

Mehmet Bulut
İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim Üniversitesi
Cem Korkut
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi

ABSTRACT
Cash Waqfs (CWs) is referred for the waqfs that have cash as capital. These waqfs were also established
like other waqfs for specific purposes. The cash that is capital of waqf is operated by Islamic methods. The
revenue derived from these methods are spent for the establishment purposes of waqf. The most important
feature of CWs is that they are standing up with operations of the cash as capital not with rental income as
real estate waqfs.
Madrasas that were one of the main institutions of the Ottoman educational system were obtaining
their needs from waqfs. Apart from this, the madrasas that were accepting aid from the state and the
philanthropists –even the Sultan- if there was need had become institutions that contribute the development
of human capital of the Ottoman State. Moreover, schools, libraries and other education institutions were
also supported by waqfs. In this study, the financial support of CWs to education system, especially founded
in Rumelia, that contributed the growth of scholars and state officials will be investigated.

Keywords: cash waqfs, educational institutions, Ottoman State, financing of education

Introduction

The waqf term means stop and detain. We can define waqf as an institutional term as giving goods and
property for charity purposes without buying rights. So, it can be thought as giving up private property
rights. This definition is important, because the waqf goods do not belong to state or individuals. We can
see the waqfs as social property (Aydın 2003:314).
The waqfs were established primarily to meet the people’s needs. The waqfs that are founded for
moral and material needs have been ongoing for centuries. Thus, the establishment of waqfs cannot be
connected only material purposes or only moral purposes. They are the institutions that provide moral and
material integrity (Kurt 1997:508).
CW is one of the type of waqf. The capital of CW is cash. The CWs operate this money with the
restrictions of the Islamic fiqh. The income from the operations serves the purpose of establishment. One
of these purposes is financing of education.

I.Educational Services

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 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WAQF AND HIGHER EDUCATION
(ISWHE 2016) ISTANBUL, TURKEY 28 – 30 MAY 2016

The waqfs were allocated for many services, economic development, health, public works, educational,
religious and military services. The educational institutions that were supported by waqfs can be ordered
as elementary schools, madrasas, dar al-Kurrâ, dar al-Hadith had specific curriculum. A teacher was
teaching the Quran reading and giving religious knowledge in elementary schools. The teachers must be
permissive, kind and competent to teaching. The waqf were not only giving wages to teachers, muderris
etc. and scholarship to students but also clothes etc. Some school trips even were covered by the waqfs
(1997:512)
Ottoman’s educational worldview gave high importance to build madrasas and education &
training in the madrasas. The sultans, viziers, scholars, palace members and officials, and ordinary people
built a lot of educational institutions and funded them by the waqfs. There were above 500 madrasas built
in Istanbul between the 15th and 19th centuries. All of these waqfs were financed by the waqfs (1997:526).

II. Cash Waqfs

CWs are the waqf that have cash money as capital. There were a lot of discussion on permissibility of CWs
in Islamic law. These institutions became widespread despite all opposition to them. Its survival in Ottoman
provided that CWs spread through into Islamic world (Çizakça 2006:24). The operations of CWs remained
within the limits permitted by Islam. Thus Islamic financing methods were developed with CWs. It can be
considered that CWs were pioneers of modern applications of Islamic finance.
The CWs that prevented usury and provided financial stability, had fulfilled a lot of services from
educational services to municipal services. Both charity works and supporting entrepreneurship became the
most important factor of proliferation of them in Ottoman geography.

III. Role of CWs in Ottoman Educational System

Not only in Ottoman State, but also in the Islamic world, dar al-Hadith, dar al-Kurrâ and a large part of the
madrasas were made as waqf and all costs were also covered by these waqfs. The employees, muderris
(professors), mu’id-i course, danismend, muhaddis, feraiz lecturers, hat lecturers, preachers, Shaykh al-
Kurrâ, librarians etc., were given wages from income of these waqfs (Bayartan 2008:167).
The educational institutions that were able to covered its own expenses and stand with their own
income, generated ideas independently without depending on an authority, except the Islamic rules. One of
the first educational institutions of Ottoman is a madrasa founded by Orhan Ghazi at İznik in 1336. This
madrasa was also funded by a waqf. Davud-ı Kayseri became the first muderris of this madrasa. He was a
highly regarded scholar. There were many principalities in Anatolia in those years. However, many scholars
preferred to study in the Ottoman State (Karadaş 2006:6). It can be considered that independent educational
thought funded by waqfs had on effect on this situation.

III.I Samples of Educational Institutions that were supported by CWs

In this study, we will focus on the educational institutions that were founded in Rumelia Province of
Ottoman State and supported by CWs. We will use the primary sources, waqfiyah documents.

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(ISWHE 2016) ISTANBUL, TURKEY 28 – 30 MAY 2016

III.I.I Waqf of Hadji Abdullah Cavus Agha b. Mahmud

(Register: 624 – Page: 172 – Serial: 122)

This waqf was founded in Akçakızanlık town at 7 June 1727. The founder of waqf was Sipahi Sergeant
Major Hadji Abdullah Cavus b. Mahmud. He appointed Molla Abdullah Effendi b. Ibrahim as trustee of
waqf. He donated 43.200 akches for waqf. The conditions of using money from waqf were to show a strong
mortgage or guarantor and to take minimum 100 qurushes. The operation rate of money was determined as
15 percent and the way of operation was istirbâh.
The purpose of waqf was to meet the expenses of the school that was built by the founder of waqf
in same town. The wage of teacher was 15 akches per day. The condition of being teacher in school was
being pious and righteous. The founder also donated a shop for covering the other expenses of school.

III.I.II Waqf of Hadji Murtaza Effendi b. Mehmed

(Register: 738 – Pages: 93-97 – Serial: 53)

The Waqf of Hadji Murtaza Effendi b. Mehmed was founded at 10-20 June 1746 for the mosque and school
that Hadji Murtaza Effendi built in Rumelia Province, Silistra, Yaylar Village. The founder of waqf, Hadji
Murtaza Effendi, former shipyard officer and Jizyah accountant. He appointed Ahmed Agha b. Muhammed
as trustee and donated some real estates includes mansion near the sea in Bosphorus the and 10.000
qurushes. He also indicated that the trustee would buy real estate for renting with 10.000 qurushes.
The income of waqf was allocated for the wages of person who was imam and preacher and person
who was muezzin and kayyım at mosque in Baylar Village. Addition to this, he would be also teacher at the
elementary school in same village. The other person would be the assistant of the teacher. The other
revenues were also distributed for other expenses of mosque and school and the Naqshbandi zawiya in
Eyup, Istanbul.
He also reported the people who would be at the management of the waqf after him. Moreover, the
views of mujtahid imams (Imam Azam Abu Hanifa, Imam Zufer, Imam Ensari, Imam Muhammed, Imam
Abu Yusuf) also were placed in the waqfiyah. In the last part of waqfiyah, the 181th verse of Surah al-
Baqara, the date of confirmation of waqf and the names of jury were written.

III.I.III Waqf of Seyyid Mustafa Agha b. Hüseyin

(Register: 987 – Pages: 143-144 – Serial: 46)

The waqf of Seyyid Mustafa Agha b. Hüseyin was founded in Akçakızanlık town at 9 December 1804. The
founder was Serbevvabin (sultan’s palace guard) and the governor of Akçakızanlık. He appointed Helvacı
Ahmed Agha as trustee and donated 6.800 qurushes.
The operation rate of cash was written as 15 percent annually in the waqfiyah. The method was
determined as istirbah. The income of waqf was allocated for the tax fund of a neighborhood and the
expenses of madrasa that the founder built in Akçakızanlık. The wage of muderris was also paid by the
waqf. The condition of being muderris was being appointed by the gentry of the town. He also described
the heirs’ condition after death.

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 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WAQF AND HIGHER EDUCATION
(ISWHE 2016) ISTANBUL, TURKEY 28 – 30 MAY 2016

The opinions of mujtahid were also written in the waqfiyah. This waqfiyah also ended with the
181th verse ıf Surah al-Baqara, the date of confirmation of waqf and the names of jury.

Conclusion
We took some samples of CWs that were financing some of educational institutions in Rumelia Province
of Ottoman State. The CWs are important because they can also be operated as financial institutions and
provide capital transfer. Meanwhile, they also funded the mosques, masjids, schools, madrasas etc. The
CWs covered many expenses of this religious, educational and etc. institutions. They provided the wages
of staff who were attendant at these institutions. Thus, they had contribution on employment at education
system. The samples of CWs show that the waqf covered both employee compensation and other basic
fixed expenses.
In conclusion, the cash waqf were unique, because they operated as micro-credit institutions that
were ruled under the Islamic fiqh. They became pioneers of the modern Islamic financial institutions with
the methods that they used. They had important function as financing the education system that was one of
the main reasons for the success of the civilization composed by Ottomans.

References
Primary Sources
Archives of Directorate General of Foundations

Articles
Aydın, V. (2003). Türk Yönetim Tarihi Açısından Vakıf Sistemi ve Eğitim Yönetimine Katkısı. Süleyman
Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi. 8(1). 313-338.

Bayartan, M. (2008). Osmanlı Şehirlerinde Vakıflar ve Vakıf Sisteminin Şehre Kattığı Değerler. Osmanlı
Bilimi Araştırmaları. 10(1). 157-175.

Çizakça, M. (2006). Osmanlı Dönemi Vakıflarının Tarihsel ve Ekonomik Boyutları. Türkiye’de

Hayırseverlik: Vatandaşlar, Vakıflar ve Sosyal Adalet Araştırması. TÜSEV. İstanbul.

Karadaş, C. (2006). Dâvûd-i Kayserî ve Genel Hatlarıyla Düşüncesi. Uludağ Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi
Dergisi. 15(2).

Kurt, İ. (1997). Vakıf Müessesesi XV ve XVI. Asır Vakıfları. XV ve XVI. Asırları Türk Asrı Yapan
Değerler. 521-523.

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