Investment of Tabung Masjid in Malaysia toward Fulfilling Maqasid-Al-Shariah

This study aims at determining the investment strategies of Masjids in Malaysia. Drawing from the success story of Tabung Haji, the study has focused on establishing the need for efficiency in investing Tabung Masjid (TM) toward benefiting the Ummah and fulfilling Maqasid-Al-Shariah. The study introduces a Maqasid-based framework to test the significance of investing TM. The sample consists of 287 mosques in 9 states of Malaysia. Cross-tabulation, ANOVA, correlations were conducted on the data collected through self-administered questionnaires. Finally, the Granger causality test is performed on the forecasted investment and development indicators. Cross-tabulation results indicated that amounts of donations and investment strategies for TM vary in states in Malaysia. ANOVA results have proved that money saved by mosques in banks varies significantly among states. Tukey test results indicate that mosques in southern states save less TM in the bank compared to the masjid in other states. Correlation results proved that savings in the bank have a negative relationship with the intention toward general and capital investment. Finally, investment of TM is found to have a significant positive causal relationship with economic development. Data used for analysis are of opinion and forecasted values, and the exact amount of donation and investment in various sources could not be obtained. Efficient utilisation of TM will allow mosques to play a significant role in shaping the socioeconomic profile of Muslim communities in Malaysia and similar initiatives will also be helpful for any developing countries. This study provides information relating to investment decisions of an Islamic Charitable Institution in the context of a developing country, which is scarce in nature. Also, the study introduces the conventional theory of investment toward discussing the need for an Islamic Investment theory grounded on the Maqasid Framework.