What is called an act of donation ? : a comparative terminology

Abstract EN

The donation of property has been prevalent in a great many regions throughout history.

Though the original meaning of waqf/habs in Arabic is simply to ‘stop’ or to ‘block’ the alienation of one’s property permanently, the act really means endowment or donation.

The waqf in Islamic law seems to be unique in its definition that « the act of founding a charitable trust, and, hence the trust itself, ...

with the intention of a pious deed, to designate persons or pulbic utilities as beneficiary » (EI2, R.Peters, 2000).

Therefore the act of waqf creates a triangular relation among the endower, beneficiaries, and the endowed properties (or their administrator) to circulate revenue of the trust (R.

Deguilhem, 2005).

There were three kinds of donation and management for immovable property in pre-modern China ; for family lineages, religous institutions, and philanthropic activities.

They worked as a trust for family leneagse and religioussocial institutions.

Medieval Japanese society was characterized by many kinds of land donation among local notables, military lords, court nobles, religious institutions, the Shogun(military ruler) and the Emperor.

The act of donation organized socio-political relations among them, by creating reciprocal ties between donor and receiver, and this world and the next, that is Buddhist society and secular society.

However the concept of ownership itself was very ambigious, compared to clearness in modern Europe and did expect a return from donated properties such as a trust.

What guranteed such a return ? It relates to terminology expressing an act of donation as well as a trust.

In this presentation, i would answer this fundamental question, discussing meaning and definition of original words (Arabic, Chinese and Japanese) expressing donation and trust in each region.