Wakef of Illicit Wealth: A Comparative Study between Islamic Jurisprudence and Algerian Law

Abstract

This research, through a comparative study between Islamic jurisprudence and Algerian law, aims to elucidate the meaning of illicit wealth, its types, and the ruling on disposing of it through wakef, as well as the major challenges facing some of its contemporary applications.

Through this study, we have concluded that it is permissible to spend illicit wealth through endowment in various charitable and benevolent domains. This aligns with the legal concept of wakef, whether done by the possessor of the illicit wealth or by the state (the ruler) upon reclaiming criminal proceeds of various kinds. This flexibility allows for the diversity of its contemporary applications according to different times and places, fulfilling the legal objectives of wakef operations (without implying piety) on one hand, and disposing of the illicit wealth on the other.