ZAKAT & ITS ADMINISTRATION
Abdul Lateef M. Adetona Nigeria
Islam being a complete way of life sets a great premium on the welfare of Muslims and utilizes a number of means through which material wealth circulates amongst members of the Muslim Ummah. These means include Sadaqah (donation), Hibah (gift), Mirath (inheritance), Mahar (dower) and of course, Zakah.
It is the divine design of the Almighty that material means are not equitably distributed amongst the people. The Quran speaks of this as follows:
“Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord? It is We who portion out between them their livelihood in this world, and We raised some of them above others to ranks, so that some may employ others in their work.” (Quran, 43:32)
Despite of this inequality in the means provided by Allah, Islam takes measures for their even distribution and circulation, one of such measures is the institution of Zakah, which is our focus in this paper. Our concern is more with the plausibility of its administration (including its collection and distribution). In doing justice to the theme of this study, I will begin with sub-themes such as definition, the rate of Nisab, eligibility for paying Zakah and Zakah administration.
Definition:
Zakah, first and foremost, is a pillar of Islam. It has been defined in many ways ranging from being a welfare contribution to a mean through which wealth is purified. It is also described as obligatory charity. It can however be defined technically as “a special rate taken at a specific time from a specific amount at a specific level and expended on specific areas.” The above definition takes care of every aspect of Zakah’s administration viz. specific rate, taken at a specified period from a specific amount at a specific level and expended on specific areas.
Nisab: This is the minimum level that a Muslim’s material possessions must have reached before he becomes eligible to pay Zakah. This is not restricted to money or gold alone. It covers all human possessions including merchandise, agricultural produce and cattle. Whoever is seen to have possessed the Nisab is seen as rich and should allow a portion to be deducted from his wealth to those in need.
In the prophetic era, the Nisab was fixed at 20 dinars for gold and 200 dirhams for currency. It usally amounts to same whether the payment is made in gold or in currency. If the amount fixed at that period is to be used, Nisab, currently will be around 126 dollars as a dinar is currently fixed at 51.3 US dollars or thereabouts.
The Nisab for possessions other than money had equally been fixed during the Noble Prophet’s lifetime and had since remained unchanged. They are as seen in the table:
It is expedient to note here that when one is in possession of currency and other goods for which, Zakah is to be paid, all possessions will be included in calculating the Nisab as well as the rate of paying the Zakah. Zakah is however not due on such animals as horses, mule or donkeys. Household utensils such as plates, chairs as well as mats are equally exempted. Utensils made of gold and silver will be included for the calculation of Zakah.
Eligibility to pay Zakah :
There are certain conditions that makes someone eligible to pay Zakah. They include:
(a)The wealth possessed by the person reaches the Nisab.
(b)The full ownership of such wealth.
(c)The possession remaining with the possessor for a whole year.
Attainment of puberty is a non-condition in this regard. If a minor is in possession of a property that has attained the Nisab, his guardian will annually make arrangement for the payment of Zakah on such possessions. Similarly properties left behind by a deceased Muslim and on which Zakah is already due cannot be distributed to the heirs until the amount of Zakah is deducted because Zakah here is a right of Allah.
Recipients of Zakah:
The Glorious Quran (Surah 9:60) enumerates the categories of people entitled to receive Zakah. They are as follows:
1.The Poor: A person whose possession is insufficient for his livelihood. His possession might have become close to the Nisab but may be inadequate to take care of himself and his family. He thus becomes eligible to accept Zakah. He is given a preference above all others because it is most likely that the amount received by him in a particular year will augment his financial means and he will be no more in need of Zakah, and consequently becomes eligible to pay Zakah to others.
2.The pauper: This is an indigent person whose condition is worse than poor. He is someone who has nothing absolutely. He is entitled to receive Zakah.
3.The one who works on Zakah: The worker, who is paid from the proceed of Zakah because it is on Zakah that he has dissipated some energies working on the collection, collation of data of eligible people to pay or receive Zakah. He also partakes in the collection and distribution of Zakah.
4.Those whose hearts are to be reconciled: This is in relation to those who have been showing interest in Islam but who nurse the fear of what might be the consequence of their actions. When they receive Zakah, it gives them assurance that Islam will take care of their welfare. This category of people were however excluded from Zakah during the time of Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab, a decision based on the fact that those who wanted to accept Islam then had nothing to fear. Experience in contemporary events has shown that in some cases these people may still receive Zakah. For example, a former Rev. Father, John Jomo was dispossessed of all his belongings when he accepted Islam and was thus impoverished for reverting to the natural religion. If he did not receive the assistance of the local Muslim community, he probably would have reverted to his former faith out of frustration. He is now Ibrahim Jomo, a Da wah worker in Lagos. It is our opinion that this class of receivers recognized by Islam can still be considered for Zakah.
5.Manumission of Slave: This is a cause that Islam has always championed from the very beginning. It is a way of worship that pleases Allah. It is preferable that Zakah is used in the manumission of slaves than spent on poors and paupers who at least have freedom. A slave pauper or poor may not be allowed by his masters to enjoy whatever Zakah is given to him.
6.Debtor: Islam also allows that a debtor who incurs debt not as a result of indolence or recklessness be given Zakah to enable him to sustain a financial standing.
7.In the Cause of Allah: Zakah proceeds can be spent on projects which are meant to promote the cause of Allah especially when the collection for the year is so enormous that it covers all other aspects earlier highlighted.
8.The Wayfarer: Zakah will be given to a wayfarer, who needs money to meet the expenses of his journey. A wayfarer is eligible to receive Zakah if the following conditions are met:
(i)that the journey is not criminally motivated
(ii)that he becomes poor during journey though he may be rich at home.
(iii)And that nobody can lend him money during that period.
Administration of Zakah:
Zakah, in the early period of Islam was administered by the state. The caliph used to appoint a representative who led a group of people to collate and calculate details of total annual possessions of Muslims and collect Zakah from them. They also distributed Zakah to eligible recipient.
Zakah, to the early Muslims was as important as Iman, Salat, Siyam and Hajj that Caliph Abu Bakr As Siddiq, on assumption of his caliphate, vowed to fight those who were using the demise of the Noble Prophet to negotiate exemption from Zakah. Abu Bakr insisted on his stand despite the advice of leading companions. He convinced them that his insistence was based on the fact that evasion of Zakah payment was like renouncing the faith, refusing to perform the compulsory fast and seeing Hajj only as voluntary.
It was also in the era of the caliph, Omar Ibn Abdul Aziz who took special interest in Zakah administration in Damascus. He made sure that Zakah was well administered and in less than two years after he became the caliph, there was no body in Damascus, in need of Zakah. By implication those who were then paying Zakah were on the increase.
This shows that wherever the Zakah administration is well handled, the society will benefit immensely from it. The above experiment was successful because it was in an Islamic State and those in charge of the administration of Zakah were also sincere Muslims.
The Nigeria and India belong to the Darus Sulh. Muslims practice their religious duties without major hinderance. However, rituals such as salat and Siyam, have been perfectly institutionalized, except Zakah.
Some Suggestions
It has been earlier said, that Zakah was administered centrally and by the state in the early days of Islam. One of the basis for this is the expression mentioned in the above (Al Amiluna Alayaha) that some people must work on Zakah. It is when Zakah is administered in this organized manner that can benefit a lot of people. Such benefits which may not be available when Zakah is not centrally administered include the following:
1.The enhancement of complete subservience to Allah thus allowing Zakah to play its actual role as a pillar of Islam.
2.It provides the rich Muslims the opportunity of sharing their excess wealth with the less fortunate among them.
3.It creates in them the impression that wealth is all from Allah and that Muslims are only trustees of what they have.
4.It brews serenity, amity and brotherhood in any given community where it is duly administered.
5.It is therefore, not of order, if the Muslim groups and organizations come together and set up a Zakah foundation in very locality, perhaps on the basis of local government council areas. This will not only work as it may also fall in line with prophetic admonitions on Zakah that it should as a matter of policy be distributed where it was colleted except on rare occasions and for specified reasons. Each of the local Zakah committees should be empowered to collect data on every Muslim resident in the locality and with that prepare a register of those eligible to collect or pay Zakah.
Workers in this committee will be adequately compensated from the Zakah fund and volunteers coming up may be acceptable to the given community. Zakah worker must possess qualities such as piety, integrity, people’s confidence, contentment, and above all knowledge of the work. The work requires knowledge in the diverse field of fiqh (Jurisprudence), Iqtisad (economics), Hisab (mathematics and statistics) and general knowledge of Islam and its principles.
If the effort of having a Zakah committee at the local level does not appear visible or fast enough, a committee may be set up on the neighborhood basis.
The committee of whatever level will have its initial problems on the collation of names of eligible recipients, eligible payers and the working of the amount due in Zakah from the properties of eligible payers. With sincerity of purpose, faith and persistent commitment of the organizers, the Zakah committee which may work on local or neighborhood basis will grow all over the region.
To achieve this, enlightenment of the need to administer Zakah centrally will have to be intensified and thus will it be popularized as a more acceptable way of Zakah payment and receipt and which will (Insha Allah) become acceptable to all.