Under the patronage of the Advisor of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Emir of Makkah Region, His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Umm Al-Qura University, represented by the College of Shari`ah and Islamic Studies, will hold an international conference on the purposes, rules, and applications of charity work, with the participation of Al-Huda Center for Shari`ah-Related Studies and Charitable Work. The conference will be held the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, in King Abdulaziz Historical Hall with wide-reaching participation on the international level.

The aim of the Charitable Work Conference is to highlight and establish the Islamic legal purposes of charitable work, and promote the renovating course of the jurisprudence of contemporary charitable work in light of the Islamic legal purposes and rules. In addition, the conference aims to encourage the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to engage in more charitable and humanitarian work.

The Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Conference and the UQU President, Prof. Abdullah Bafail, stated that the Charitable Work Conference is important as it seeks to fulfill the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which include empowering the non-profit sector and enhancing mutual cooperation between the governmental and non-governmental sectors. In addition, it aims to encourage the charity sector to apply the criteria specified by the wise government.

The Dean of the College of Shari`ah and Islamic Studies and the Secretary General of the Conference, Dr. Ra'id Al-Usaimi, clarified that the total number of research papers received by the Scientific Committee amounted to 650 from 33 countries. In addition, a total of 92 research papers were approved and peer reviewed by the Scientific Committee. Prof. Abdullah added that during the conference the participants will discuss their papers, which cover the following themes: Charitable work and its role in community reform, the Islamic legal purposes of charitable work, the Islamic fundamental and jurisprudence rules in the organization of charitable work, applications of charitable work in light of its rules and purposes, and the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in serving charitable work.

The Secretary General of the Conference pointed out that the expected outcomes of the conference include launching the Shari`ah-Related Criteria for Charitable Work Project and forming a scientific committee concerned with the purposes and applications of charitable work. The expected outcomes of the conference also include formulating the Makkah Pact for Charitable and Humanitarian Work. Finally, specializing workshops are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the conference with the aim of organizing and developing the charitable work streams (Allah willing).