Arabic (تبرع) for voluntary donation. It may broadly involve any voluntary act without expecting or stipulating any compensation in return. An example is a gift (hadiyyah) extended unilaterally, without the giver being requested to do so.
In relation to Islamic finance transactions, tabarru refers to an act by a competent person to unilaterally grant an asset or usufruct (manfaah), either with immediate effect or on a future date, without seeking any compensation (iwadh). Usually, tabarru is carried out for charitable purposes.
In its legal form, tabarru is usually conducted by means of a noncommutative contract (gratuitous contract), or uqud al-tabarru. This type of contracts include donations (tabarruat), endowments (waqf), gifts (hibah/ hibat) such as ghallah produced by loaned assets, etc. Contracts involving such benevolent acts are typically known as uqud al-irfaq.
