Spanish authorities preserved Muslim waqf endowments for local poor relief and captive ransoming

Evidence

4. The income from charitable foundations should all be devoted to relief for the poor, ransoming of captives, and highway repairs. This clause is clearly dealing with what had been the important Islamic institution of pious endowments (Arabic waqf, plural awqaf, or in the Arabic of al- Andalus, ahbas or habices as they were generally called in the Castilian documentation). It is intended to make sure that such local charities were to continue to be available for local use and not be misappropriated for private benefit. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 257

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains that habices/ahbas is the Andalusian Arabic term for waqf endowments that appears in Castilian documentation.