THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF THE WAQF: THE KAʿABA

This research aims to shed light on the forgotten history of waqf. It examines the limits of the fiqhi and legal interpretation of waqf as a gift contract, Islamic social and solidarity economy institution, an instrument of Islamic social finance, in exploring historical facts. Through a careful examination of the awqāf literature, the research finds that the Kaʿaba was the first waqf built on Earth by Ādam and then rebuilt by Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl after the Flood of Nuḥ. This forgotten history of the Kaʿaba as a waqf is an example of how our preconceptions get in the way of the historical data. Among the major historical results of this study concerning the Kaʿaba, the following should be noted: (1) The construction of the Kaʿaba by Ādam arises from a mīthāq (pact) of obedience to God and not from an ʿaqd tabaruʿ (donation contract) made in perpetuity. (2) The Kaʿaba is the best waqf that exists on earth from Ādam until the Last Day. (3) The Kaʿaba was rebuilt by Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl after the flood on the original location. Among the organization of life, the reconstruction of the Kaʿaba by Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl, with local natural resources, shows the importance of the recall to Worshipping God alone, without associating anything else with Him in the foundation of the process of maʿāsh (which closely associates the world we live from and the world we live in), and that of ʿumrān (which encourages regrouping in a place for living together in peace).