Waqf has historically served as one of the most vital philanthropic mechanisms in Islamic civilisation, contributing to socio-economic welfare through sustained and productive endowments. In Malaysia, modern variants such as corporate waqf are increasingly promoted to enhance national economic development, yet public participation among waqf participants remains lower than expected. Moving beyond traditional rational-choice models, this study investigates the relational determinants of Muslims' intention to participate in corporate waqf initiatives by applying the Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing. The conceptual framework examines shared values (operationalised through religiosity), trustee communication, and brand awareness as critical relational antecedents influencing institutional trust, relational commitment, and subsequent participation intention. Using empirical data collected from 254 Malaysian Muslim consumers who are aware of waqf and corporate waqf initiatives and analysing it via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the study evaluates both direct and indirect structural relationships. The findings reveal that shared values (religiosity), trustee communication, and brand awareness exert positive and statistically significant direct effects on institutional trust, relational commitment, and participation intention. Furthermore, institutional trust and relational commitment operate as key partial mediators that convert relational inputs into behavioural intentions. The model demonstrates high explanatory power, accounting for 75.8% of the variance in corporate waqf participation intention (R^2=0.758). The study offers significant theoretical contributions to Islamic social finance by establishing relationship marketing as a robust paradigm for philanthropic engagement, while providing actionable strategies for waqf institutions to enhance public stewardship, transparent communication, and brand equity.
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