By Mohd Rehan Ansari,TwoCircles.net,
Dr. Rahmatullah is a Reader and Head, Department of Business Economics, A.P. College of Commerce & Economics, affiliated to Mumbai University. Seen as a pioneer on Islamic finance, he is founder of All India Council Of Muslim Economic Upliftment Ltd., Muslim Merchant Chambers of Commerce and CCI. He also formed the Movement of Zakat foundation. He is seeking a reform in the current system of Zakat distribution in India. He opens his mind on the subject in an interview with Mohd Rehan Ansari of TwoCircles.net.
What is Zakat Dr. Sahab?
Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, the fundamental tenets which all Muslims around the world follow as part of the practice of their faith. It’s ordered in Quran along with Namaz repeatedly. Under Muslim beliefs, people must give alms annually. All adult Muslims who are capable of giving alms must do so as part of their faith. It’s levied 2.5% on Muslims who are holding wealth equal to 75 grams of Gold or the wealth equivalent to that.
Zakat is an Islamic institution then how will it help the economic upliftment of Muslims?
Along with a religious obligation it’s a part of an Islamic economic system. The prophet Muhammad (PBUH), all the four Caliphates and after that Muslim rulers have followed the system of Zakat and after nearly 50 years, at the time of sixth Caliph of Muslims Umer bin Abdul Aziz, there was no one eligible to take the Zakat.
Dr. Rahmatullah
How much Zakat do Indian Muslims distribute and how is this distributed?
It’s the subject of extensive research and I have tried and calculated it using some random examples and the government statistics. It was around Rs 10,000 crore in 2005 and now it should be around 15000 crore because government data suggests that wealthier got wealthiest in these five years. Although I have used very small sample and that can’t be generalized but it gives a glimpse of what the result could be.
Distribution part is the saddest one. Muslims pay Zakat to their relatives and other beggars nearly 25 to 30%, to socio-religious groups mainly Madrasas nearly 50 to 60%, to religious NGOs like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamiat Ulema 10% and the rest to social organizations like some local trusts.
How does Zakat help in attaining Social Security?
Economic strength and empowerment of any community depends both on the internal and external factors. Appointment of a High Level committee by Prime Minister of India to look into the matters of Indian Muslims and suggest ways for their upliftment may be treated as an external factor. But often internal factors acquire greater importance as non-utilization of available opportunities and resources mars any scheme of progress. If Rs.15000 crore collected and distributed in a planned way it can bring about the economic revolution not only for Muslims but for the Non Muslims also. We can kill 3 birds with a stone i.e. Starvation, Lack of Source of Earning and Bad Image of the community.
You mean Zakat can be given to Non-Muslims also?
Yes, of course, Zakat can be given to the Non-Muslims under the head of Muallifatul Qulub.
You are not satisfied with the individualistic distribution of Zakat and want a reform. In your paper you have concluded that “The method of distributing Zakat individually has marginalized the basic objectives of Zakat.” Can you explain that?
Yes, I will never support the system where individuals distribute Zakat because It’s against the basic objective of the concept of Zakat. It began with the decline in the practice of Rule of the Islamic Law and with end of Caliphate System. It degenerated both the concept and practice of Islamic Baitulmal. People started paying and distributing Zakat individually in the absence of mandatory authority appointed or elected as per Islamic Law. India, in spite of being under rule of Muslims for around eight hundred years, witnessed the same system. Under the influence of teachings of various schools of thought, Muslims of India pay and distribute Zakat and Sadqat at individual levels. It may be noted that allocation of Zakat fund by individual payers does not have any standard norm or practice or vision. In addition to that Zakat is not productive and it is distributed, used, consumed and finished. They don’t generate any resource of fund. In addition to many factors, the depth of Islamic knowledge, social consciousness, relation with needy and also whims and fancies of the payers play important role in allocating funds under different heads.
According to Sachar Committee only 3% of Muslims study in Madarsas and you suggested that Indian Muslims distribute more or less 50% of their Zakat to them. Is it not irrational?
That’s what I say. In the absence of a uniform authority Zakat is distributed recklessly and I am,therefore of the firm opinion that Zakat must be collected at one place and must be distributed according to the need and in right proportions. We have to think like a government and plan can be devised to distribute Zakat in a way that it can create wealth along with generation of Income for current use.
What plans do you have to implement this collective system and how could it be implemented in the absence of unified authority?
I do not have any direct answer to this. What I think is all this is possible with an organized system. Revival of Zakat as an Institution can only make this revolution possible.
I suggest that we must begin to change the mindset of the people and should plan for 10 years. Firstly Muslims should allocate only 10% of their Zakat under the unified authority and it should be distributed mainly in Service Oriented Work.
For example there are 300 districts in India with sizeable Muslim population. We can train 300 Ulemas on how to get the government schemes implemented for these Muslims and then hire them for all these districts. They can bring about a kind of revolutions in 10 years. Government has many schemes for poor, widow, senior citizens, education, youth and many Schemes are only for minorities for education and self employments. Like these with minimum investment we can get maximum output for the Muslim community and if plan well there will not be any Sachar Committee report and we will also help the suiciding farmers and poor of this nation.