Abstract for: Toward Sustainable Hajj Fund Management in Indonesia: A System Dynamics Approach

This study examines Indonesia’s Hajj pilgrimage, where average waiting times exceed two decades, and investigates how fund management can address mounting concerns about its equity and sustainability. Despite extensive research on Hajj fund management, few studies adopt an integrated approach at the granular level, leaving gaps in understanding how different management models affect the financial viability of Hajj funds and the protracted waiting list. The cause and solution to the hajj waiting time are often seen as exogenous, and there is little to do to influence them. On the contrary, the long waiting time is the result of the current policies, which are embedded as endogenous variables. By employing system dynamics methodology, this research compares multiple fund management policies to gauge their efficacy in ensuring a sustainable financial model without further prolonging wait times. The findings demonstrate that strategic adjustments; such as gradual redistributing investment returns, increasing initial deposits, and reducing mandated contribution, can significantly enhance financial sustainability. It is also in line with the self-financing (istitā’ah) principle as a basic tenet of Hajj. This study proposes a restructured Hajj fund model that balances Islamic principles with the practical demands of financial and operational sustainability. Proposed Scenario 1 can reduce the burden of final payments, however, it does not address the main issues of full distribution of investment return to the individual account. Scenario 2 demonstrates the potential to accelerate self-financing by combining increased initial contributions with enhanced returns to individual accounts, however risking long-term viability. Scenario 3 offers a more balanced approach that yield result in gradually reducing the final payment for departing pilgrims while maintaining fund sustainability above critical thresholds. Grammar checking and improve readability