FUSING FAITH AND FINANCE VIA FATWA: THE FUTURE OF WAQF-TAKAFUL DEATH COMPENSATION PRODUCT AT FWD TAKAFUL BERHAD

The waqf-takaful concept involves channeling death compensation benefits from deceased takaful participants to selected religious institutions, thereby generating perpetual and sustainable waqf contributions. Despite recent challenges such as inconsistent implementation standards and management issues, some takaful operators in Malaysia have started to incorporate death compensation waqf into their offerings. Key players in this field, such as FWD Takaful Berhad, Waqaf An-Nur Corporation Berhad (WanCorp) and Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia (YWM), have significant potential for collaboration in advancing this product. This study aims to develop a waqf-takaful death compensation product for FWD Takaful Berhad, known as FATWA. This product integrates elements of death compensation waqf and takaful, combining the efforts of FWD Takaful with WanCorp and YWM to optimize takaful benefits. The study uses a qualitative approach, with data collected through focus group discussions involving academics in Islamic finance, waqf, law and marketing, as well as industry players from selected takaful companies in Malaysia, YWM and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA). The data were analysed using thematic analysis via ATLAS.ti software. The study found that waqf-takaful death compensation products, FATWA developed by FWD Takaful Berhad through WanCorp or YWM, have unique strengths. Both are competitive and capable of making significant contributions to the takaful and waqf industries, offering substantial benefits to the Muslim community as a whole.