JAKARTA — Waqf (endowment) is a special form of worship because the rewards of waqf will continue to flow even after we die. Even the reward can be in someone else’s name. “A friend of Fadhl came to the Messenger of Allah and asked, ‘My mother has passed away and I intend to do good deeds for her, will the reward benefit my mother?’ The Messenger of Allah replied, ‘Build a public well and dedicate the reward to your mother.’
Yes, Dompet Dhuafa believes that waqf for wells is a form of waqf that aims to improve people’s quality of life. This is because if there are communities that do not have access to clean water, their general level of health will automatically be poor. The General Manager of Dompet Dhuafa Waqf, Bobby Manulang, believes that from this aspect, there are multiple benefits that we are trying to achieve from waqf for wells.
“And for Water for Life, we are continuing the development of waqf wells in several areas. And it turns out that the waqf well program is also relatively evergreen and also sparks the enthusiasm of the community, communities, and corporations to join in sharing the campaign with Dompet Dhuafa,” he said.
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Bobby further explained that waqf, everything can be defined in the form of assets. Waqf money and goods become assets of waqf such as money assets, securities, gold, land, and buildings. In the 1950s-1970s, the main agenda of the clerics was to increase public access to worship. Because the mission was to uphold faith. So places of worship need to be increased so that the community can easily access places of worship and majelis talim (Islamic religious study circles).
“Speaking of contemporary waqf today, factually, we need more sources of livelihood that can be utilized by the community, especially the lower-middle class, to be able to obtain economic resources. Such as market waqf, micro business capital waqf, health service waqf, and educational activities waqf. Because it has an economic impact on health and education constraints due to the limited economy in the community,” explained Bobby, Friday (9/2/2022).
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There is also education that targets a certain level of skill, which we often hear about, namely vocational schools, higher education that focuses more on work practices that can support expertise in certain fields of study. So, this school is designed to short-cut the need between expertise or skills and the world of work. Hence the idea of Dompet Dhuafa to develop the Institute of Independence, Khadijah Learning Center, Umar Usman Business Campus, and so on.
“This is an effort by Dompet Dhuafa to produce skilled workers who have relatively good bargaining power in the world of work and entrepreneurship. Creating independent individuals who are able to work based on waqf educational facilities. So, for those who may be limited or cannot afford to continue to state universities, choosing these vocational schools can be an alternative for them to still be able to try to have the ability to create a livelihood,” he explained.
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He added, “Both soft skills and hard skills are combined. In addition, after everything is achieved, the hardware is needed, there is a place to actualize it. Well, this waqf-based initiative can be promoted. For example, capital assistance, this is one of Dompet Dhuafa’s efforts to link and match educational facilities with the means of actualization.” (Dompet Dhuafa / Dhika Prabowo)