Investigating the level and determinants of hibah knowledge: a study among Muslims in Kedah, Malaysia

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the level of hibah knowledge among Muslims in Kedah and investigate its determinants, consisting of education level, education stream, religiosity, social influence and social media. Design/methodology/approach - This study is quantitative in nature. Questionnaires were distributed to collect data from Muslims in Alor Setar, Kedah. In total, 195 questionnaires were collected and data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings - The study finds that Muslims in Alor Setar, Kedah have good knowledge of hibah. Further, education stream, religiosity, social influence and social media were identified as significant factors that influence their knowledge of hibah. Research limitations/implications - The first limitation is its narrow focus in surveying Muslims only in Alor Setar, Kedah. The second limitation is the limited number of determinants used in investigating hibah knowledge among Muslims and the techniques used in analyzing the data. Despite these limitations, the study’s findings provide invaluable insights into the factors influencing hibah knowledge among Muslims in Alor Setar, Kedah. Practical implications - This study provides insights regarding the significant personal factors and environmental factors to increase Muslims’ knowledge of hibah. The link between the Islamic education stream and hibah knowledge provides a clear indication that Islamic education can curb the economic problems caused by the substantial amounts of frozen and unclaimed assets in Malaysia. A significant relationship between the environmental factors (social influence and social media) and hibah knowledge also implies that the government and private agencies related to Islamic estate planning and management may use these significant determinants as part of the marketing strategy to increase the usage of hibah as an alternative tool for estate planning. Originality/value - This study contributes to a better understanding of Muslims’ knowledge about hibah. The government and related agencies in Islamic estate planning and management can now gain better insights into Muslims’ level of knowledge about hibah and the factors influencing their knowledge of hibah as an effective tool for Islamic estate planning and management. Hence, more effective strategies can be recommended to enhance the knowledge of Muslims on hibah. The findings of this study should be of value to the government in its effort to address the increasing number of frozen estates in Malaysia.