The waqf system (public endowment of property, money, educational institution or land) has served as the backbone of Islamic civilization, providing public services and support over the course of Muslim history.
The properties of most major cities consisted of a large portion of awqaf (pl: waqf). The Mamluk and Ottoman periods saw significant development of awqaf and by the 1800s, in Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire more broadly, nearly half of all real estate fell under the awqaf.1 In the Balkans too, historian Noel Malcolm notes, “By 1878 it was estimated that nearly one-third of all usable land in Bosnia was owned by vakufs.”2 Vakuf is the Ottomanized term of the Arabic waqf, and is commonly used in reference to the endowments in the Balkans.
One of the most remarkable examples of this system still stands in the heart of Sarajevo: the Gazi Husrev Beg waqf. The Gazi Husrev Beg Mosque, and its surrounding complex, is one of the best preserved examples of an endowment, and has remained in operation since its establishment by its patron, Gazi Husrev Beg in the 1530s. The largest waqf in Bosnia, it has survived both war and genocide.
Who Was Gazi Husrev Beg?
Born in Serres, Greece in 1480 Gazi Husrev Beg was raised in nobility as the son of Selçuk Sultan, daughter of Sultan Bayezid II.3 Though there are few historical sources about his early life, historians believe Husrev’s upbringing fostered leadership skills in him, and kept him close to circles of power. He likely received a private education – as was customary for someone of his background – and travelled with his uncle, Prince Mehmed to Kefe and Moscow on official diplomatic trips.4
Husrev’s experiences made him an ideal candidate for governor. He served as Bosnia on multiple occasions, and once over Smederevo, in modern day Serbia.
As governor of Bosnia, Husrev took part in numerous military campaigns capturing several strategic fortresses and cities around the Balkans, helping to solidify Ottoman authority over the region. He also took part in several negotiations and diplomatic communications with the Habsburgs and the Hungarian Kingdom who constantly vied for control in the Balkans. Perhaps most famously, he played a significant role in the Battle of Mohács which resulted in an Ottoman victory. This battle is one of the most important battles in Ottoman history as it resulted in the decimation of the Hungarian Kingdom and strengthening of Ottoman domains.
Husrev governed Bosnia for 17 years, until 1541 when he passed away.
Inside the Gazi Husrev Beg Complex
Beyond his extensive achievements on the battlefield that won the hearts of the Muslims of the Balkans, he contributed to the development of the city of Sarajevo – most notably the establishment of the Gazi Husrev Beg Complex.
The complex was the beating heart of the city, part of a long Ottoman tradition of establishing awqaf in the cities that they conquered. While modern governance structures of a waqf are often embedded within the apparatus of government, historically, awqaf operated far more independently and were often established to address a particular need within a town or city.
Built on land given to Gazi Husrev Beg by Sultan Suleiman, the complex included numerous facilities, starting, of course, with a mosque, alongside a school (madrasa), library, soup kitchen (imaret), guesthouse (misafirhane), marketplace (bezistan), public baths (hamam), and public fountains.
The extensive complex was meant to serve the needs of residents and visitors to the city in as many ways as possible. One such visitor was none other than Evliya Çelebi, who described how the waqf even provided warm water for ablution (wudu) stating that, “Because its endowment (waqf) is exceedingly robust, the trustee (mutawalli), acting on behalf of the founder, boils water in cauldrons as large as soup-kitchen cauldrons during Bosnia’s severe winters. He causes hot water to flow from all the faucets like the rivers of Paradise (Salsabil). As all the worshippers renew their ablutions there and perform their prayers, they offer blessings and prayers for the benefactor, Husrev Pasha.”5
Initially endowed with 700,000 dirhams to establish the waqf (approximately $80 million USD today), Gazi Husrev Beg set it up in such a way that it quickly became self-sustainable – a key factor in why it continues to operate today.6 In fact, the Gazi Husrev Beg waqf is one of the few remaining Islamic endowments in the world that still primarily operates according to the stipulations of its original 16th-century deed.
Gazi Husrev Beg personally donated approximately 200 shops to the waqf. Their collective revenue has sustained its operations, including salaries for staff, up to the present day.7
Only a few years after the completion of the mosque, Husrev built the Seldžuklija (or Seljukija) Madrasa. Named after his mother Selçuk Hatun,the madrasa offered religious education as well as training in medicine, botany, engineering, and other fields.
Stipulations from the Endowment
The endowment left by Gazi Husrev Beg set out detailed instructions in its deed for all of its operations and facilities.
The soup kitchen, for example, was to provide two meals every day to any needy individual that walked through its doors. The madrasa was to have highly qualified teachers who were paid high daily wages. This was done to ensure only the best teachers would be hired and to avoid corruption of any kind. As such, teachers were expected to be well-versed in the Islamic sciences, while also maintaining a strong understanding of law, medicine, and engineering.
The khanqah, or sufi lodge, was to be administered by sheikhs of the Halveti Sufi Order to which Gazi Husrev Beg belonged. During this period of Ottoman history, the Halveti Sufi Order was one of the largest in the empire and maintained close ties to Ottoman rulers. One of the stipulations which applies until today was the recitation of the entire Quran in the mosque daily. Typically, this would be carried out by groups of madrasa students each taking a portion to recite in the mosque. This continued even through the scourge of war. Some religious scholars in Sarajevo today recount that when they were madrasa students, they would earn their daily wage for food or other expenses by reciting a few parts of the Quran at the mosque.
As is common with many Ottoman era endowments, the stipulations end with an ominous warning stating:
فَمَنْ غَيَّرَهُ أَوْ بَدَّلَهُ، أَوْ سَعَى فِي إِبْطَالِهِ أَوْ نَقْصِ شَرْطٍ مِنْ شُرُوطِهِ
Whosoever alters this endowment, changes any of its conditions, seeks to void it, or attempts to diminish its assets through misinterpretation or reallocation — whether they be a governor, a judge, or any person of authority — they shall bear the sin of it. The curse of Allah, His angels, and all of mankind shall be upon them until the Day of Judgment. Allah does not guide the unjust, and He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
سَوَاءٌ كَانَ حَاكِمًا أَوْ قَاضِيًا أَوْ ذَا سُلْطَانٍ، فَإِنَّمَا إِثْمُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يُبَدِّلُونَهُ
فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ، إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
وَلَا يَقْبَلُ اللهُ مِنْهُ صَرْفًا وَلَا عَدْلًا، وَاللهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
This warning is often inspired by the verse of Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:181 stating a similar warning.
The Gazi Husrev Beg Library
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the waqf is the library, home to one of the largest and oldest collections of Islamic manuscripts in the Balkans. It is understood that the library was completed around the same time as the madrasa in 1537. The original endowment states that “whatever is left from madrasa construction expenses is to be used for purchase of good books that shall be read in the madrasa and rewritten by readers interested in science”.8
The library was inducted with a large collection of books and texts that were purchased at the time of its foundation. Manuscripts arrived from cities all over the Islamic world including Mecca, Madina, Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul and Baghdad. It is noted that the madrasa and the inns at Gazi Husrev Beg complex served as places where many manuscripts were copied by hand to be placed in the library’s collection.
Sadly over the centuries, much of the original collection was lost to multiple fires and little of it remains. Today the library houses up to 50,000 works from around the world in various languages. Books, magazines and other works authored by Bosnians from 1878 onwards can be found in the collection, along with a further 7,500 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish.
In recent years, the library has expanded by purchasing the private collections of notable figures in Sarajevo to add to the collection. The library’s most prized possession is a copy of Imam Al Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum Al Deen (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) written in the year 1131.9
Surviving the Bosnian War and Genocide
The Gazi Husrev Beg complex has endured natural disasters, fires, and other tribulations throughout its history including the Bosnian War and genocide in the 1990s. and specifically the Siege of Sarajevo which lasted nearly four years.
During this period the complex was deliberately targeted by Serbian shelling from the mountains surrounding the city, and many of its facilities were damaged or destroyed. The library staff, anxious to protect the library’s collection, worked tirelessly to relocate thousands of books and manuscripts throughout the city in secret. Numerous Islamic manuscripts were kept in vaults to prevent Serbian forces from damaging or destroying them.
The mosque also suffered severe damage and had to undergo significant restoration after the war. Restoring the Gazi Husrev Beg complex was a high priority for the local community for both its historical significance and the role it plays in the community’s economic, spiritual, and intellectual enrichment. In many ways, it was a lifeline for the city, a symbol that stood tall in resilience.
The war was not the first time that Sarajevo and Bosnia as a whole had been forced to endure tribulation. The geo-strategic significance of the region as an ideological buffer between Europe and the Ottoman world meant that it regularly faced periods of volatility and uncertainty. The Gazi Husrev Beg complex remained constant in its service, providing humanitarian, economic and spiritual relief in times of ease and difficulty.
The Waqf Today
The Gazi Husrev Beg waqf is a testament to how an Islamic institution can operate and thrive in the modern world. In an age of constant change and development in the name of innovation, it plays an anchoring role, providing economic, spiritual and intellectual sustenance for the community it serves, especially in times of turmoil.
Though the role and function of the complex has changed and evolved over time, along with the needs of the community itself, what has remained constant is its ever-reliable presence at the heart of Sarajevo. The expansive nature of the waqf has even earned Gazi Husrev Beg the title ‘the second founder’ of the city.
Today, it is imperative that we learn from the example set by the likes of Gazi Husrev Beg, and establish charitable endowments and institutions with the intention of ensuring their financial independence and longevity, while maintaining the ability to adapt alongside the needs of the community.
Footnotes
- Minlib Dallh, “Accumulate but Distribute: Islamic Emphasis on the Establishment of Waqf (Pious Endowment): Research Article,” Religion and Development 2, no. 1 (September 20, 2023): 21–40 ↩︎
- Joseph J. Kaminski, Mustafa Krupalija, and Hamza Preljević, “Vakuf Administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Halduskultuur 24, no. 2 (August 25, 2025): 9–24 ↩︎
- Muhammed Tayyib Okiç, “GAZİ HÜSREV BEY – TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi,” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2026 ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Semavi Eyice, “GAZİ HÜSREV BEY KÜLLİYESİ – TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi,” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2025, ↩︎
- “History,” Gazi Husrev-bey Library, n.d. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Fikret Karçıç, “GAZİ HÜSREV BEY KÜTÜPHANESİ – TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi,” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2026. ↩︎
