﻿532 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  farmer, 
  as 
  he 
  can 
  cultivate 
  it 
  as 
  he 
  wishes 
  and 
  bequeath 
  it 
  to 
  his 
  

   heirs. 
  He 
  has, 
  however, 
  to 
  abide 
  by 
  certain 
  conditions, 
  the 
  main 
  

   among 
  which 
  are 
  the 
  following 
  : 
  (a) 
  if 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  left 
  uncultivated 
  for 
  

   3 
  consecutive 
  years, 
  it 
  will 
  revert 
  to 
  the 
  state; 
  (b) 
  such 
  reversion 
  also 
  

   takes 
  place 
  when 
  no 
  heirs 
  claim 
  the 
  land; 
  (c) 
  the 
  owner 
  cannot 
  

   bequeath 
  such 
  property 
  through 
  a 
  will. 
  Upon 
  death, 
  inheritance 
  

   takes 
  place 
  automatically, 
  as 
  prescribed 
  by 
  the 
  Muslim 
  law; 
  (d) 
  also 
  

   the 
  owner 
  cannot 
  offer 
  it 
  in 
  dedication 
  for 
  any 
  purpose, 
  as 
  explained 
  

   below. 
  

  

  3. 
  Waqf. 
  6 
  — 
  By 
  this 
  term 
  is 
  designated 
  property 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  dedi- 
  

   cated 
  for 
  religious 
  or 
  charitable 
  purposes. 
  With 
  the 
  advent 
  of 
  the 
  

   religion 
  of 
  Islam, 
  this 
  practice, 
  which 
  already 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  existence, 
  

   became 
  highly 
  institutionalized 
  and 
  widely 
  spread. 
  In 
  almost 
  every 
  

   village 
  of 
  the 
  Middle 
  East 
  one 
  comes 
  across 
  such 
  dedicated 
  property. 
  

   This 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  building, 
  an 
  open 
  field, 
  an 
  orchard 
  or 
  a 
  few 
  trees 
  of 
  

   one, 
  offered 
  as 
  a 
  perpetual 
  gift 
  to 
  a 
  church, 
  a 
  mosque, 
  or 
  a 
  patron 
  

   saint. 
  A 
  common 
  one, 
  mostly 
  in 
  towns, 
  is 
  the 
  Sabil, 
  a 
  public 
  fountain 
  

   or 
  drinking 
  place. 
  The 
  main 
  goal 
  people 
  have 
  sought 
  through 
  such 
  

   dedication 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  invocation 
  of 
  mercy 
  from 
  the 
  Almighty 
  or 
  

   His 
  saints 
  upon 
  their 
  sick 
  ones, 
  or 
  upon 
  the 
  souls 
  of 
  their 
  dead. 
  It 
  is 
  

   also 
  good 
  religion 
  to 
  dedicate 
  for 
  charity 
  of 
  various 
  kinds. 
  Another 
  

   form 
  is 
  dedication 
  for 
  the 
  benefit 
  of 
  one's 
  heirs. 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  noted 
  

   that 
  only 
  Mulk 
  land, 
  as 
  described 
  above, 
  can 
  be 
  dedicated 
  as 
  true 
  

   Waqf, 
  which 
  entails 
  absolute 
  and 
  perpetual 
  transfer 
  of 
  ownership. 
  

   On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  Mir'i 
  land 
  can 
  be 
  dedicated 
  only 
  as 
  untrue 
  Waqf, 
  

   which 
  involves 
  usufruct 
  and 
  not 
  ownership. 
  True 
  Waqf 
  cannot 
  be 
  

   exchanged 
  or 
  sold 
  except 
  when 
  replacing 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  ultimate 
  aim 
  of 
  

   such 
  transaction. 
  

  

  4. 
  Masha\ 
  7 
  — 
  In 
  Lebanon, 
  ownership 
  of 
  land 
  by 
  individual 
  families 
  

   is 
  the 
  rule, 
  whereas 
  in 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  a 
  form 
  of 
  communal 
  

   ownership 
  is 
  practiced. 
  Most 
  probably 
  this 
  came 
  about 
  as 
  a 
  natural 
  

   development 
  of 
  the 
  original 
  tribal 
  organization. 
  It 
  is 
  just 
  one 
  step, 
  

   possibly 
  the 
  only 
  one 
  that 
  could 
  be 
  taken, 
  from 
  common 
  ownership 
  

   by 
  a 
  nomadic 
  tribe 
  of 
  grazing 
  rights 
  over 
  a 
  certain 
  territory 
  to 
  com- 
  

   munal 
  ownership 
  of 
  agricultural 
  land, 
  when 
  that 
  tribe 
  settles 
  down. 
  

   In 
  fact, 
  one 
  can 
  still 
  observe 
  this 
  transition 
  taking 
  place 
  in 
  several 
  

   localities 
  within 
  the 
  region, 
  where 
  nomadism 
  and 
  settled 
  agriculture 
  

   meet. 
  Under 
  the 
  Masha? 
  system 
  no 
  one 
  owns 
  any 
  specific 
  plot 
  in 
  the 
  

   village 
  territory. 
  Instead, 
  each 
  individual 
  farmer 
  or 
  family 
  owns 
  

   a 
  certain 
  number 
  of 
  shares, 
  which 
  entitle 
  the 
  owner 
  to 
  cultivate 
  a 
  

   certain 
  amount 
  of 
  land 
  for 
  a 
  period 
  varying 
  from 
  1 
  to 
  5 
  years. 
  At 
  

   the 
  end 
  of 
  such 
  period 
  a 
  rotation 
  of 
  cultivators 
  takes 
  place. 
  Usually, 
  

   regular 
  inheritance 
  of 
  shares 
  takes 
  place 
  by 
  dividing 
  them 
  among 
  

  

  • 
  From 
  the 
  Arabic 
  root 
  verb 
  Waqafa, 
  to 
  stop 
  or 
  to 
  hold 
  steady 
  and 
  unchanged. 
  

   7 
  From 
  the 
  Arabic 
  root 
  verb 
  Sha'a, 
  to 
  be 
  shared 
  in 
  common. 
  

  

  