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ISLAM
for whom the process and technique of making things has remained inseparable from the supreme art, which is the perfecting of the soul and drawing it nigh unto God—a goal that constitutes the heart of the Islamic message.
Religious Endowments Another major Islamic institution that plays an important economic and social role is that of waqf, or religious endowment. The Arabic term means literally “arresting” or “taking into custody” a sum of money or assets. The person or persons designated by the endower receive the money or assets, and the person contributing them determines their purpose and the manner of their administration. Any purpose that is in accordance with the Sharī‘ah and is not illicit can be chosen, ranging from establishing schools to building water fountains. Throughout Islamic history wealthy patrons have created waqfs with either monetary assets, land, or other forms of wealth. These waqfs have created and maintained mosques, schools, Sufi centers, hospitals for both people and animals, homes for the elderly, sanatoriums, roads and bridges, wells and water fountains, hospices for pilgrims, and many other public works. The most important function of waqf, however, after the purely religious one associated with the construction and maintenance of mosques and similar buildings, has probably