From Charity to Systemic Empowerment: Reconceptualizing Productive Waqf as a Maqāṣid-Based Instrument for Sustainable Community Welfare in Banda Aceh

Abstrak

This article reconceptualizes productive waqf as a Maqāṣid-oriented institutional instrument through which the five essential objectives of Islamic law (al-Ḍarūriyyāt al-Khams) are substantively operationalized to achieve sustainable falāḥ. Moving beyond conventional views that frame waqf primarily as a consumptive charitable practice, this study situates productive waqf within a broader paradigm of systemic empowerment and long-term community welfare. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the research draws on documentary analysis of Aceh Qanun No. 10/2018, reports from the Badan Waqf Indonesia (BWI), waqf pledge deeds, and related institutional records, complemented by in-depth interviews with nāẓir, beneficiaries, religious scholars, and local stakeholders. Data were analyzed through an integrative framework combining the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah Development Framework, the Capability Approach in Islamic economics, and Institutional Trust Theory. The findings show that productive waqf practices in Banda Aceh have progressed beyond the fulfilment of basic needs (ḍarūriyyāt) toward enhancing quality of life (ḥājiyyāt) and reinforcing moral and social values (taḥsīniyyāt). Waqf-based initiatives contribute not only to income generation but also to the expansion of beneficiaries’ capabilities, including economic agency, access to education, and participation in collective decision-making. Moreover, transparency, accountability, and participatory governance emerge as key determinants of institutional trust and program sustainability. Overall, this study demonstrates that productive waqf can function as an integrated system of ethical governance, capability development, and social legitimacy in advancing sustainable community welfare.