Islamic microfinance is one of the instruments that has been proven its ability in empowering the impoverished and rural population. It is implemented by giving a small-scale financing for entrepreneurial purposes. However, the cost operation is said to be high since it involves vast fieldworks that need to be carried regularly not to mention that these often concentrated in rural areas. Entrepreneurship support programs - which are also costly - should also be offered periodically as this population is believed to have a low level of management literacy and entrepreneurship. microfinance products have to be offered at a fairly expensive charge to cover operating costs. As a result, the financial products have to be offered with a high charge so as to cover the operating costs. The initiative to integrate the Islamic microfinance and waqf is seen to be among the ideal solutions to address this problem. This is because waqf and Islamic microfinance share a common concern of empowering the poor, the Muslim community in particular. Nevertheless, this notion is seldom discussed in a thorough and systematic manner. Therefore, the present study is aimed at exploring the practicality of the integration of waqf and Islamic microfinance in terms of its prospects and challenges. Library approach and content analysis are adopted to realise the objective. The findings indicate that there are several prospects that can positively impact the Islamic microfinance institutions, waqf institutions and the community at large. Some issues and challenges are also identified and deserve attention. It is hoped that this study could provide some insights and practical guidance towards better practice of Islamic microfinance and waqf.

ABSTRAK

Pembiayaan mikro Islam merupakan salah satu instrumen kewangan yang terbukti mampu untuk mengupayakan populasi miskin dan luar bandar. Ia dilaksanakan dengan cara memberikan akses pembiayaan berskala kecil bagi tujuan keusahawanan. Namun kos operasinya agak tinggi kerana melibatkan kerja-kerja lapangan bersama masyarakat miskin yang perlu dijalankan secara kerap dan selalunya tertumpu di kawasan luar bandar. Program sokongan keusahawanan – yang turut memakan belanja besar - juga perlu dilaksanakan secara berkala memandangkan populasi ini mempunyai tahap literasi pengurusan dan keusahawan yang rendah. Akibatnya, produk pembiayaan mikro terpaksa ditawarkan dengan kadar caj yang agak mahal bagi menampung kos operasi. Inisiatif untuk mengintegrasikan perlaksanaan pembiayaan mikro Islam dan wakaf dilihat antara solusi ideal yang mampu menyantuni permasalahan ini. Ini kerana wakaf dan pembiayaan mikro Islam berkongsi matlamat yang sama iaitu untuk memperkasakan populasi miskin khususnya masyarakat muslim. Walau bagaimanapun, saranan sebegini kurang dibincangkan secara mendalam dan sistematik. Justeru, kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk meneroka keboleh-laksanaaan pengintegrasian antara wakaf dan pembiayaan mikro Islam dari sudut prospek dan cabarannya. Kaedah kepustakaan dan analisis kandungan digunakan bagi mencapai objektif. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat beberapa prospek yang mampu memberi impak positif terhadap institusi pembiayaan mikro Islam, institusi wakaf dan pembangunan sosial. Beberapa isu serta cabaran turut dikenalpasti dan perlu diperhalusi sebaiknya. Diharapkan kajian ini mampu dijadikan rujukan dan panduan dalam usaha membangunkan perlaksanaan pembiayaan mikro Islam dan wakaf yang lebih mampan.

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