Waqf (Endowment) Calculator
Last updated: June 2026 · Free · No sign-up required
Enter values above and click Calculate to see your result instantly.
A waqf is Islam’s perpetual charity machine: the principal is locked forever and only its returns are spent — which is why a single well-run endowment can fund a mosque or school for centuries. The catch is arithmetic: distribute more than your real return and the corpus quietly consumes itself. This calculator runs the projection year by year and tells you plainly whether your payout rate is sustainable.
Enter the principal, the expected return from Shariah-compliant investments, the annual payout and inflation. You get the first-year distribution, total distributed over the horizon, the corpus in both nominal and today’s money, and the inflation-proof payout ceiling — the maximum rate at which the waqf truly lasts forever.
Quick reference
| Principal | Return | Payout | First-year distribution | Sustainable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | 7% | 4% | $4,000 | Yes (ceiling 4% at 3% inflation) |
| $100,000 | 5% | 6% | $6,000 | No — erodes real corpus |
| $500,000 | 6% | 3% | $15,000 | Yes |
| $1,000,000 | 7% | 4% | $40,000 | Yes |
mosque Calculated to Shariah-compliant formulas
Every Islamic calculator on CalcaTools uses formulas from recognised Shariah authorities — the Hilal Committee's Hijri conversion tables, the MWL/ISNA/Umm al-Qura prayer-time methods, the four-school consensus for Zakat Nisab, and the Faraid distribution rules from classical fiqh. The exact authority is cited on every tool page.
menu_book Sunni & Shia rules side by side
For tools where the calculation differs between schools (Faraid inheritance, certain Zakat triggers, prayer-time conventions), we surface the choice as a selector and document the difference in the methodology block. Pick the school that matches your tradition — the answer adjusts.
savings Zakat with the live Nisab
Zakat tools fetch the current spot gold/silver price (or let you enter your local rate) so the Nisab threshold reflects today's value, not a stale figure from last year. The 2.5% rate is the standard hawl-based calculation; agricultural Zakat (1/10 or 1/20) is available on the dedicated Ushr calculator.
verified For guidance, not a fatwa
These calculators give you the number — they do not give a fatwa. For complex personal situations (inheritance with revoked rights, mixed-asset Zakat, late prayer makeup rules), please confirm with a qualified scholar in your tradition. We're here to help with the arithmetic, not to replace your local imam.
Interpretation guide
| Check | What it means |
|---|---|
| Payout ≤ return − inflation | Corpus keeps its real value forever — a true perpetual waqf |
| Payout = return | Nominal corpus flat, but inflation quietly shrinks it |
| Payout > return | Corpus declines in nominal terms — the waqf consumes itself |
| Real corpus column | Future corpus expressed in today's purchasing power |
Formula & methodology
Formula: Sustainable payout ≤ return − inflation; corpus(t) = corpus(t−1) × (1 + return) − distribution
- Enter the endowed principal and the expected annual return from Shariah-compliant investments (sukuk, halal equity, rental property).
- Set the payout rate distributed to beneficiaries each year and expected inflation.
- The simulator distributes, then grows the remaining corpus, year by year, and reports the inflation-proof payout ceiling.
Worked example: $100,000 waqf earning 7% with a 4% payout and 3% inflation distributes $4,000 in year 1 and $145,837 over 25 years, while the corpus grows to $209,378 — exactly $100,000 in today's money: the maximum payout that preserves it forever.
Frequently asked questions
Explore the full Islamic toolkit
Every CalcaTools Islamic calculator — zakat and charity, prayer times, the Hijri calendar, halal finance, and family tools — cross-checked against the Umm al-Qura calendar and classical fiqh references.