ACTNews, MALANG - KH Mahfudz Syaubari, the caretaker of the Riyadlul Jannah Islamic Boarding School in Ledok Village, Pacet, Mojokerto, East Java mentioned that one of the verses of Surah Al-Baqarah talked about waqf. For him, waqf is a manifestation of the commands in these verses.

"So what is the Quran? It is a book that is a guide for those who are mindful of Allah. Who are they? They are the believers of the unseen, and those who establish the salat, including those who do anything based on its proper procedures, in worship, transactions, and conduct," said KH Mahfidz Syaubari.

These verses are then followed by a command to give from what have been provided to them. For KH Mahfudz, giving waqf is a form of giving donations. If waqf is managed properly, KH Mahfudz is sure that it can produce a strong civilization.

"And they are people who always try to be able to successfully manage what they have so they can be is around them, and can be self-sufficient, and they can perform almsgiving. Waqf is form of donation. If a community regularly gives donation, and the funds from this donation is well-managed, it can result in an excellent civilization. So the existence of this waqf is not only to educate but, really, also to encourage, to strengthen self-reliance, to be generous to one another and to provide good examples," said KH Mahfudz.

KH Mahfudz Syaubari in the rice field that will be supported by the waqf funds, (ACTNews / Erwin Santoso)

One of the manifestation of waqf is by funding agricultural lands through waqf. Yayasan Penguatan Peran Pesantren Indonesia (YP3I) which KH Mahfudz Syaubari co-founded, in collaboration with Global Wakaf - ACT and Gerakan Masyarakat Pesantren untuk Ketahanan Pangan Indonesia (Gema Petani) will support 500 hectares of rice fields with waqf funds from the community.

"It will be a sin if we don't facilitate this movement for food security. What we are seeing here is our movement to support the farmers. It will surely improve agriculture. When I was a kid, producing only 7-9 quintals of rice per hectare was considered good enough at that time because everything was simple back then. There were no shoes, no sandals, no cellphones, no laptops, no sophisticated tools, "said KH Mahfudz.

Nowadays, farmlands are considered fruitful if they can produce dozens of quintals of rice KH Mahfudz adds, it is an obligation for the community to come up with innovations for farmers so that their agricultural patterns can be better.

"In the next few days we will cultivate a massive plot of land in East Java. Thanks to our cooperation with Global Wakaf - ACT, we will cultivate about 500 hectares," said KH Mahfudz while pointing out the patch of land in Morodadi Village, Singosari District, Malang City, Sunday (10/18).

In the future, this movement will not only prosper the farmers, but also the surrounding community. We have a food waqf program. From these rice fields, the rice will go to the Waqf Rice Granary. The unhulled rice will be milled, rice will be distributed, Insha Allah, to the community, including the impoverished farmers," said Global Islamic Philanthropy President and Chairman of ACT Supervisory Board Ahyudin.

Because of the great potential of waqf, Ahyudin invited the public to take part in this movement. "Let's take part in the waqf movement. Let’s free the community from poverty. Let us fight for the food sovereignty of the people. Insha Allah, if they are food-sovereign, Insha Allah, they will be independent, have self-esteem, not be easily dictated and be free from poverty," said Ahyudin. []