Book: Muslim Waqf aur Waqf Sanshodhan Adhiniyam-2025
Author: Dr. Syed Nasir Hasan
Publisher: M.M.I. Publishers, New Delhi
Reviewed by Dr. M. Iqbal Siddiqui
In an increasingly polarised national climate, where debates on minority rights and religious autonomy often unfold amid legislative churn, Dr. Syed Nasir Hasan’s Muslim Waqf aur Waqf Sanshodhan Adhiniyam-2025 stands out as an urgently needed guide. Published in Hindi and priced at an accessible ₹100, this 120-page work is not merely a commentary on the latest amendments to the Waqf Act; it is also a concise journey through the theological, historical, and legal foundations of waqf in India.
Hasan combines his IT background with an appreciable grounding in Islamic jurisprudence and Indian constitutional law, writes with clarity and purpose. His choice of Hindi is deliberate: an effort to democratise a subject too often trapped in legal jargon or confined to English and Urdu scholarship. The book enables ordinary readers, as well as activists and scholars, to understand both the text of the 2025 amendments and their bearings on Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
Structured across 11 chapters, the book moves from scripture to statute. The opening chapter outlines the waqf’s spiritual ethos, rooted in Qur’anic injunctions and Prophetic practice, while tracing its evolution through early Islamic history and its flourishing under the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals. Hasan highlights waqf as a civilizational institution that historically strengthened social welfare, education, and community resilience.
The core of the book lies in its legal exposition. Hasan offers a succinct review of regulatory milestones, from the Bengal Regulations of the early 19th century to the post-Independence Waqf Acts, before turning to the 2025 amendments. His critique is sharp but substantiated: the large number of deletions and new mechanisms of oversight, he argues, recast waqf from a perpetually protected charitable trust into an entity increasingly vulnerable to state control. He warns that such changes strike at the constitutional guarantee that communities have the right to manage their own religious institutions.
Useful comparative insights emerge in the discussion on Hindu and Sikh endowment laws, where Hasan notes the greater autonomy preserved for other religious institutions. By contrast, the Waqf Act’s tightening framework appears to move towards homogenisation under the pretext of reform.
The book’s strengths lie in its lucidity, its blend of scholarship and accessibility, and its practical orientation. The chapter “Humein Kya Karna Chahiye” offers concrete steps – digitising deeds, raising legal awareness, and building civic partnerships – transforming concern into collective responsibility. Appendices and references add substance without overwhelming readers.
If some historical sketches feel brief, they do not detract from the work’s overall effectiveness. Hasan maintains a careful balance between critique and evidence, grounding his arguments in jurisprudence, precedent, and lived reality. In sum, Muslim Waqf aur Waqf Sanshodhan Adhiniyam-2025 is a timely, thoughtful, and necessary contribution. It equips readers to understand the stakes of the current debate while reminding us that meaningful reform must strengthen, not wear down, the ethical foundations of waqf. For jurists, scholars, journalists, and community leaders, it is essential reading in an era when constitutional protections require renewed vigilance.