Mir Imtiyaz Aafreen
The problem of poverty has become a matter of concern in almost every part of the world. Millions of people are living below the poverty line and they are finding it extremely difficult to make two ends meet. World hunger is on the rise, affecting 9.9% of people globally. According to the United Nations, in 2015, 10% of the world’s population lived on less than $1.90 a day and 55% of the world’s population did not benefit from any form of social protection. Thus, poverty has emerged as a serious threat and its effect is very bad. A poverty ridden family is a burden on the society. If the society is unsupportive, the situation gets worse. G B Shaw rightly points out, “The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty, and that our first duty to which every other consideration should be sacrificed is not to be poor.”
It has been seen that poverty demoralizes people and they are often forced to do undesirable things. They may resort to violence, get dehumanized and commit crimes. They may create trouble and spread discontent. Mainly the apathy of the socio-political system, unemployment and under- development of industry and trade are responsible for gruesome poverty.
Islam has responded to the problem of poverty by introducing a comprehensive welfare program by the name of Infaq, sadaqaat and Zakah i.e., a full-fledged program of charity. ‘Infaq’ means ‘spending on others’, it includes the offerings given for the sake of God. Thus comprises everything that a believer freely gives to another person, out of love or compassion, as well as what he is morally or legally obliged to give, without expecting any worldly return. Zakah is the obligatory charity that is incumbent on every Muslim enjoying a certain minimum of property and/or income.
Zakah is the second most important pillar of Islam after prayers. The Qur’an commands to pay Zakah at 82 places and mentions prayer and Zakah together at 32 places, thus proclaiming the importance and place of it in Islam. Just as prayer is the most important link in dealing with the rights of the Divine Creator so is Zakah in dealing with the rights of human creatures.
Zakah literally means ‘purity and cleanliness’. By happily taking out the share of God from one’s wealth, the wealth is purified and the self is cleansed from selfishness and materialism. In the Holy Qur’an, addressing the Holy Prophet (SAW), Allah says:
“Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [ Allah ‘s blessings] upon them. “ (9:103)
The importance of Zakah can be gauged from the fact that during the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakar (RA) when some tribes refused to pay Zakah to the state treasury, he decided to fight them till they agreed to deposit the same as it is considered to be the responsibility of the state to provide sustenance to the poor.
A study of the Qur’an and Hadith makes it clear that the status of all virtues in Islam is in prayer and Zakah. The other virtues follow these two in one way or the other. In religion a man needs two things to become an ideal devotee of God. One is that he should be properly connected with his Lord and the other is that his relationship with the people should be established on right basis. Prayer connects man properly with his Lord and the obligatory charity in the form of Zakah establishes his relationship with the people on the basis of compassion. Ideally an individual needs to strike a balance between the rights of the Creator and the rights of God’s creation. Zakah is a charity system that God has ordained for the welfare of the poor, the needy, and all those who need economic support.
Zakah is the backbone of Islamic welfare system. The purpose of Zakah is to ensure that the society is founded upon the principles of equality and justice. Islam makes it obligatory for the rich to pay Zakah of their savings annually at the rate of 2.5%.and provide it to the poor and have-nots of the society so that they are made self-sufficient. This may be an effective step towards the obliteration of poverty. The scholars have been reiterating that if Zakah is paid by every Muslim and provided to the have-nots of the society, the rampant poverty and destitution may effectively be controlled. Zakah is not just limited to providing basic amenities to the poor but it also aims at empowering them. It works as a social charitable giving tool, and if managed properly, the recipients can establish for themselves small businesses to produce things and to meet their subsistence needs. According to a study, Muslims are among the poorest of the poor in the world. Around 40% of the Muslim population languishes in abject poverty (COMCEC, 2014). It clearly shows that Muslims have neither been able to help the needy nor have they been able to devise an effective mechanism to manage the system of Zakah in a proper way. It is the need of the hour to think over the problem and work for the elimination of poverty from Muslim society.
Mir Imtiyaz Aafreen is senior lecturer in School Education Department , feedback at imtiyazaafreen@gmail.com
