By Taofeek Lawal
A senior lecturer at the Department of Islamic Law, Kwara State University, Malete, Dr Abdullahi Saliu Ishola, has said zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, is designed alleviate poverty in the society if it is well harnessed and properly distributed.
The don stated this at the fourth National Zakat Day and 14th public zakat disbursement organised by the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society Zakat and Endowment Foundation (AZEF) with the theme ‘Exploring Waqf for Sustainable Measure against Poverty’ which was held at the Al-Habibiyah Centre, Guzape, Abuja, last Saturday.
Dr Ishola said zakat is imposed on eligible Muslims as a tool to alleviate poverty and support the weak in society. According to him, poverty persists in the land because of the wrong ways zakat is distributed, which has encouraged laziness and begging among the poor.
The don said what some who gives as zakat is just sadaqah (alms) because they don’t have the full knowledge of how it (zakat) should be distributed. He urged Muslims to emulate the teachings of the Glorious Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad in assisting one another, regardless of tribe and social difference.
He said, “Those who pay zakat do not have the full understanding of what it is all about. There is that lack of intelligence to coordinate it. There should be awareness among Muslims on how zakat should be paid and the process to follow. Lack of zakat payment can bring calamities in one way or the other.
“Waqf (endowment fund) is another Islamic tool than can tame poverty if well harnessed and it will sustain prosperity. Government should also intensify effort by exploring ways to enhance the well-being of Nigerians and work towards bringing people out of abject poverty.”
The National Chief Imam of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), Fuad Adeyemi, said AZEF’s objective is to ameliorate poverty among the Muslims and strengthen economic stability in the country.
Adeyemi urged the beneficiaries to invest the money and items given to them so that they could also pay zakat to others in the coming years.
According to him: “There is no poverty in Islam. It’s just that most people are not giving their zakat in the right way as Allah has directed and that is the reason we organised this lecture to educate our Muslim brothers on how to give out their zakat and the importance of endowment in Islam.
“A beneficiary of zakat is not entitled to receive zakat again, unless there is a natural disaster. Giving people money that would not be enough for them to invest and create wealth is not the proper mode of zakat distribution.
“We design the disbursement in a transparent way such that all the beneficiaries meet the requirements as stated in the Holy Qur’an and no family member of the zakat committee benefits from this disbursement,” Adeyemi said.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, commended the commitment of Al-Habibiyyah to touching the lives of many Nigerians through the zakat disbursement and other programmes.
He expressed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ameliorating economic hardship, urging Nigerians to assist one another and live in peace and harmony.
One of the beneficiaries, Priscilla John, a Christian, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, thanked Al Habibiyah for giving her a sewing machine which she said would help to kick-start her fashion designing business.
About N15 million was disbursed in cash, education scholarship and other empowerment items that included nine sewing machines, three grinding machines and six deep freezers to 90 beneficiaries in Paduma community of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
– Source: Tribuneonlineng.com
