Středověké islámské nadace: Rekonstrukce obsahu nadačních listin čtyř damašských waqfů z 11.–13. století

Abstract

The foundation deed of the waqf is one of the main documents that we need to understand the economic and social signifi cance of this institution. The foundation deed contains information on the founder of the waqf, it specifi es endowed properties and depicts, in detail, the ways the properties should be utilized in order to accomplish a will of the founder. Research on waqfs of pre-Ottoman Syria is generally complicated by lack of original foundation deeds. This often makes us dependent on alternative sources of information. This paper demonstrates the potential of Arabic Epigraphy (inscriptions on waqf buildings) and literary sources (chronicles, biographical dictionaries, topographical descriptions, compendia of fatwās) to reconstruct the content of foundation deeds of four Damascene waqfs from 11th – 13th century.