The importance of waqf in supporting healthcare services

Abstract

A healthy society is achieved through good healthcare facilities and the ability of each member of the society to get their healthcare needs. The success of waqf as a source of healthcare financing in Islamic history has been a major factor for waqf practices to be retrieved back today. The purpose of this article is to analyze the related literatures on waqf contribution in healthcare and wellbeing. Thus, waqf was a great model used to establish hospitals in Muslim world; it was also a successful method used to achieve large numbers of healthcare facilities around Muslim nation that was ensuring their wellbeing. The methodology of this article is through descriptive research based on document analysis on previous articles and literatures on the importance of waqf in health and healthcare services. The finding of this article shows that waqf has been proven to provide an efficient alternative source of funding to the development of health care institutions, and this can only be done if there is a transparency system that directs the administration of these funds. Implications from this research are that waqf can possibly act as a good model for use in reducing health problems and increasing societal wellbeing. Further research into the application of waqf to healthcare will contribute to providing some possible solutions to overcome different diseases.