AN ANALYSIS STUDY ON THE NEED OF INVESTING IN THE CONTEMPORARY WAQF FIELDS ON THE KENYAN COAST

The first Waqf to be established in this region was the Friday congregational mosque at Shanga – a village in Pate Island in Lamu County, dating back to 870A.D. This research entails highlighting the bases of Waqf in Islamic Jurisprudence; it also gives a historical view on the establishment of Awqaf in the Kenyan Coast. The researcher shall also  highlight the traditional usage of Waqf usufruct, and finally he shall propose various contemporary Waqf fields in the Coast of Kenya, which people should invest in them to improve their living standards.  Methodology used in this research is the induction method where ideas of scholars are analyzed and historical method. This method is used to narrate the advent of Muslims in the Kenyan Coast as well as the establishment of the Awqaf in the region. The study revealed that there is need to invest in the contemporary Waqf fields to maximize the usage of regional waqf properties. The findings of this study would contribute to the understanding of challenges in utilization of Waqf property. It also contributes to the betterment of Waqf usage for the benefit of Ummah. The study recommends that, there is a need of initiating a collective Waqf projects (Waqf-al-Jamai) through contributions from different donors to establish Waqf prjects, Ulamaas and preachers should create awareness on the importance of investing in the contemporary  Waqf fields ,seminars and research should be conducted on Awqaf.