The Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 has passed in the Lok Sabha after a hot debate of about 12 hours. Today this bill is being introduced in Rajya Sabha and it will be passed today. Waqf Bills bring many changes in the management and regulation of the assets. This bill emphasizes on bringing the management of Waqf properties under government supervision and increasing transparency. Even after the bill is enacted, Muslims will be able to create waqf, but with strict terms and conditions.
Let us understand what Muslims will be able to do and what will not be able to do with the enactment of this bill. What will be the impact of this law on the Muslim community.
1- Waqf by User ends
The provision of Waqf by user has been abolished in Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025. Now only the same property will be considered as a wakf, which has been formally dedicated to the Waqf (ie through written documents or will). But earlier it was not so.
The Waqf By user was a traditional method under which a property, such as a mosque, cemetery or dargah, if used for religious or community works by the Muslim community for a long time, was also considered as a form of any formal document or declaration. It was part of the Islamic law and the old practice of Waqf in India.
But this provision has been abolished in the pass bill in the Lok Sabha. Now if a land or building has been being used as a mosque or cemetery for years, but it does not have any legal documents of Waqf, then it will not be considered as Waqf.
Each Waqf property will be checked by the District Collector. The Waqf Board will not be able to claim any place without evidence.
Explain this through an example- to be supposed to be a graveyard on a land for 100 years in a village, but it was never formally declared as Waqf. Previously, it was considered as Waqf under the “Waqf by user”. Now after the new law, if the Waqf Board does not have any documents of this land, then it will not be considered as Waqf. The side showing the correct document of this land can claim it.
2. Muslims will have to fulfill the condition to donate property
Under Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, Muslims will now have to fulfill the condition for property donation. On Wednesday, Home Minister Amit Shah said that
Vakf ‘means donating your land, important property or asset in the name of Allah for the good of Islam. Donation can only be made of its property, not the government or the property of anyone else.
Amit Shah said that donating has great importance in this, donations can be done only that is your own property. No one can donate government property. Can not donate someone else’s property.
Under the new provision, any Muslim has been accepting Islam for at least 5 years and the legal owner of the property will be able to donate property for the same Waqf. This provision was abolished in the Waqf amendment of 2013. Now it has been brought again.
That is, if a person has been accepting Islam for less than 5 years, then the person becomes Muslim by converting, then in such a situation he will not be able to donate his property Waqf. For this, he will have to wait for 5 years.
3. Women will have to give their share before wakf
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 has a new provision that says that if a Muslim wants to donate his property to Waqf, then women will have to give their share before announcing it. It has made special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.
For example, a person wants to wake up his 10 bigha land. He has a daughter, a widow sister, and an orphan nephew. In the old rule, he could give the entire land in Waqf, but now he will also have to give them part of them, only then he will be able to donate his share of land to Waqf.
Now before making the Waqf, it will be check whether daughters, sisters, wives, widows, divorced women and orphans have got their share. If not found, Waqf will not be valid.
4. Waqf will not be able to do the land
In the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, the land of tribals has been given complete security by declaring the land of Waqf. The land of tribal communities in India has been marked and preserved under the fifth and sixth schedules of the Constitution. These lands are part of their culture, livelihood and identity.
Under the new rule, if a land is of Tribal Community, that is, which is recorded in the name of Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution of India or comes under their traditional jurisdiction, then the Waqf Board will not be able to capture that land. Nor will any Muslim be able to donate this land of the tribal community for Waqf.
The purpose of this provision is to protect the interests of the tribals.
5. End of Fund 40
The proposal to remove Section 40 of the Old Act in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is a major change. To understand this, first it is important to know what was section 40 and now what will happen with its removal.
Section 40 of the Act provided that the Waqf Board had the final right to decide whether there was any property Waqf or not.
Section 40 of the Waqf Act, 1995 used to give the right to the Waqf Board that if he felt that a property was of Waqf or being used as a Waqf, he could investigate and take him into possession. That is, without any concrete evidence or court decision, the Waqf Board could decide itself whether a land or building is his or not. This Shakti used to make the board very powerful. Many times it was misused.
This section-40 has been abolished in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. On Wednesday, Kiren Rijiju described this section as the most objectionable. Now the investigation and decision of the vibration of a property will be taken by the District Collector or the Nominated Officer of the State Government.
The board’s decision in this case was final, until it is canceled or revised by the Tribunal (Tribunal).
According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, no appeal could be made against the decisions of the tribunal.
Now in the Waqf Amendment Bill, the provisions that consider the decisions of the Waqf Tribunal have been removed and its orders can be appealed to the High Court within 90 days.
The opposition has strongly opposed the move, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee said that the removal of this section will make the Waqf Board a “dentalless doll”.
6. Security to the lands and assets of theasi
Any announcement or notification issued in relation to Waqf properties under Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be invalid, if such a property will be invalid, if such a property at the time of such an announcement or notification, the Ancient Monument Protection Act, 1904 (Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904) or ancient monument and ancient monument and archeology act and redemption act, 1958 (ancient monuments Under Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958), it was a protected monument or protected area.
This means that the monuments protected by ASI have now been excluded from the purview of Waqf.
Suppose, an old dargah or tomb is preserved near ASI, but if the Waqf Board declares it its property, then under the new bill, the Waqf Board will have to provide evidence that the property is really their. He will have to show paper.
If the evidence is not found and it is in the list of ASI, then the collector will make him out of the Waqf.
Please tell that there was an attempt to declare Taj Mahal as Waqf’s property.
7. Collector to large scale rights
In the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the District Collector has been given important rights in the management of Waqf properties and disputes. The District Collector had no major role in the Old Waqf Act, 1995. The Waqf Board himself examined the property, claimed, and implemented its decisions. But now it has been changed.
Now the collector will identify government property. Will decide to have a property or not. The collector will also settle the disputes.
The Home Minister said that the right to declare a property has been abolished and now such announcements will be verified by the District Collector.
Amit Shah said that whenever land is purchased for a temple in the country, the collector decides its ownership. He raised the question as to why the Collector is opposing the investigation of the land of Waqf. He insisted that the collector has the right to investigate whether the government has the land of Waqf or not.
8. Entry of non -Muslims in Central and State Waqf Board
According to this new bill, non -Muslim members will also be appointed keeping in mind the inclusive perspective in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Board. Union Minorities Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the Central Waqf Board may have a maximum of 4 non-Muslim (minimum-2) members. According to Home Minister Amit Shah, no non-Muslim member appointed in the Waqf Board or its premises will be included in religious activities. Their role must only be to ensure that the administration of cases related to donation is operating according to the rules.
Along with this, both will also include at least two women (Muslims or non-Muslims).