Islamic Philanthropy in Contemporary Islamic Thought: Repositioning Zakat and Waqf for Economic Empowerment and Social Transformation

This study aims to critically examine the repositioning of zakat and waqf within contemporary Islamic thought as instruments of sustainable economic empowerment and social transformation. The study employs a qualitative library research approach by examining Indonesian regulations, Islamic legal opinions, official reports from zakat and waqf institutions, and relevant academic literature. The data are analyzed through descriptive-analytical interpretation, comparison, and synthesis. The findings demonstrate that productive zakat and productive waqf can strengthen beneficiaries’ economic independence through business capital, revolving financing, mentoring, productive asset development, and integration with Islamic commercial finance. However, the substantial gap between potential and realization is constrained by limited literacy, institutional weaknesses, inadequate supervision, uneven digitalization, and weak inter-institutional coordination. The novelty of this study lies in proposing a repositioning framework that connects Islamic philanthropy, Islamic education, maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, digital governance, and integrated Islamic social-commercial finance into a transformative ecosystem. This framework shifts philanthropy from short-term charity toward sustainable economic empowerment and social transformation