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(w{fata}kf)  [Arab. waqf.] 

    In Islamic countries, the custom of giving a piece of land, etc., to a religious institution, so that the revenue can be used for pious or charitable purposes; also, the property given in this way.

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1976
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  1836 E. W. LANE Acct. Manners & Customs of Mod. Egyptians I. 159 He first imposed a tax (of nearly half the amount of the regular land-tax) upon all land which had become a wuckf (or legacy unalienable by law) to any mosque, fountain, public school, &c. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VII. 113/2 The regular dervishes live in..khanakahs, or convents, which are endowed with lands or wakf. 1911 Ibid. XVII. 413/1 The law and usage of religious foundations in perpetuity (waqf, mortmain) became as important in Islam as monastic endowments in mediaeval Europe... It was the only safe way of providing for posterity. 1917 Chambers's Jrnl. July 477/1 The partisans are, on the one side, the clergy, who control the wakfs (religious endowments). 1976 M. S. HOQUE Hunger I. iv. 27 Yes, the Karaitali plot I shall give to Judge by wakf. 1976 S. R. SIMPSON Land Law & Registration i. 11 The inalienability of waqf land in Islamic countries similarly holds up development.
 

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