<![CDATA[Productive waqf has attracted increasing attention as a strategic instrument for promoting the economic empowerment and welfare of Muslim communities, particularly in addressing structural poverty and socioeconomic inequality. However, its implementation continues to face challenges related to managerial capacity, legal certainty, and institutional governance. This study analyzes the normative position of productive waqf through the uṣūl al-fiqh maxim Mā Lā Yatimm al-Wājib Illā Bihī Fa Huwa Wājib, which establishes that a necessary means for fulfilling an obligation may acquire an obligatory status. This study employs normative legal research by examining classical fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh literature, contemporary Islamic economic scholarship, Indonesian waqf regulations, and relevant academic studies. The materials were analyzed using content analysis, normative legal reasoning, and a maqāṣid al-sharīʿah perspective. The findings indicate that economic empowerment of the ummah may be classified as a collective obligation (farḍ kifāyah). Accordingly, productive waqf may acquire an obligatory status when it constitutes a necessary and effective means of fulfilling that obligation. Under these conditions, professional management, institutional strengthening, accountability, and innovation in waqf utilization are not merely policy options but normative requirements. This study contributes to Islamic economic law by providing an uṣūl al-fiqh-based justification for strengthening waqf governance, institutional capacity, and public policy.]]>
