Revisiting Waqf as a Catalyst for Green Economic Transformation in the Twenty-First Century

There is great concern over climate change and environmental issues, resource scarcity, inequality in economic resources, and the sustainability of current patterns of development in the 21st century. Despite the commitment of governments and the international community to promote green economic reforms, access to sustainable finance for the pursuit of environmentally sound development still faces great challenges. Therefore, it has been acknowledged that new models of economic systems are urgently needed that would bring together social welfare and natural accountability and financial feasibility. The Islamic world has a long tradition of using the waqf institution for the benefit of public services, public goods and public properties, infrastructure, environmental preservation, and community welfare and welfare enhancement. Unfortunately, however, the latent function of waqf for sustainable green economic developments hasn't yet been adequately addressed. This research revisits the concept of waqf as an instrument in promoting green economy transformation in the 21st century by focusing on the way waqf can be revisited in order to have more leverage in green growth and eco-friendly transformation, in order to have a breakthrough towards climate resilience, resource saving, and inclusive economic development based on an Islamic economic perspective. This research uses qualitative methods and an analytical study on classic and contemporary literature of Waqf, Islamic economics, environmental sustainability, green finance, and sustainable development. The study reveals that Waqf endowments provide an innovative tool with considerable potential to support the transformation of economies toward green development. Specifically, waqf has the capacity to finance renewable energy generation projects, sustainable agriculture activities, afforestation programs, natural resource management, environmental education, green infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation measures. The research concludes that the characteristic of permanence and flexibility makes waqf an appropriate mechanism to support such long-term environmental initiatives that create both societal and natural capital value. Also, the study suggests that combining Waqf, recent innovations, current global best practices, technologies, and sustainability policies can reinforce environmental governance frameworks, stimulate green job creation, and facilitate improved climate resilience. The research provides an original analytical model for integrating Islamic philanthropy with environmental sustainability and illustrates waqf can act as an ethical, robust, and inclusive solution for the environmentally and economically sound challenges of the 21st century.