Current Status Of The Philanthropic Practices In Astronomy

The purpose of the philanthropic practices in Islamic tradition is not only about Islamic ethics and fiqh, but to enhance the efficiency of welfare distribution and development of the ummah, including the community intelligence. This paper reports the current status of the philanthropic practices that have been utilised in the astronomy field and their effects in buttressing the advancement of Islamic astronomy (falak syar’ie), astronomy, and space science. This paper acts as a preliminary study as part of a bigger research therefore, it is limited to a review of philanthropic practices that have been and are being implemented in astronomy and the extent of their impact in this field. The inductive and deductive approaches were used in analyzing the research data obtained from the literature review. This paper found that philanthropy is a practical mechanism that could be applied in sustaining the development of astronomy and space science knowledge. In Malaysia, the practice of philanthropy from individuals funds in supporting the field of astronomy is seen as quite positive. Nonetheless, this practice is seen as less encouraging within the government, non-profits and corporations. Therefore, it would be great if philanthropic institutions along with strategic fund planning could be established. More structured fund management will lead to intelligible planning for the growth of the astronomy field in this country.