Mukâtaa in Ottoman waqf law

The concept of mukâtaa is used in different meanings in Ottoman society, as well as to express different practices in waqf law. However, the mukâtaa discussed in this study is a kind of long-term lease contract, which refers to the lease of the waqf land to anyone who wants to build a building or plant a tree, provided that the right of permanence (right to remain fixed in a place) condition and property belongs to him. The annual rental fee received as a result of this contract is called icâre-i zemîn or mukâtaa-i zemîn in addition to mukâtaa. This practice, which was called mukâtaa in the Ottoman period, is called hikr in fiqh books. The aim of the study is to reveal the place and legal consequences of the mukâtaa contract in the 16th and 17th century Ottoman applied law, based on the information in fiqh books, fatwa journals, and court registers. Thus, it is aimed to fill an important gap in the Ottoman waqf law regarding the rental of waqf properties. In the study, it was concluded that waqf or mîrî lands, which are not suitable for agriculture, were leased with mukâtaa under certain conditions. Thus, the mukâtaa contract, which emerged with the motive of necessity and need, provided waqfs with the opportunity to continue their services by utilizing their idle plots, and played an important role in the development of a city. In addition, the mukâtaa contract is important in terms of laying the groundwork for the practice of icâreteyn, which is more advantageous for waqfs in terms of renting waqf land or properties. As a result of the mukâtaa contract, a tenant has the self-perpetuating right on the properties he has built on the waqf land. Trustees cannot interfere tenant's disposition as long as he pays his mukâtaa. Again, due to this right, the tenant can sell, donate, devote or lease to someone else his properties in the land, and when he dies, these properties are transferred to his heirs. On the other hand, the trustee has important rights, such as taking the rent, lease the escheated land, terminating the contract under certain condition, preventing unauthorized dispositions, receiving some money for the waqf in the event of the sale of the landed property, and obtaining the mines.