According to Islamic ideals, the best way to give zakat is to make people enabled and productive to earn a living so that they do not ultimately feel the need for taking zakat

The best way of giving Zakat

Well-off people in Bangladesh are seen donating clothes, cash, foods and other goods among the poor on religious occasions such as the holy month of Ramadan and the Eids. Charities during religious occasions and at other times have a role in helping the poor. But the charitable goods are mainly of a consumptive nature. Therefore, one is inclined to thinking whether the poor would be benefited greater and in a long lasting way if the resources spent on disparate individual charities could be pooled together for systematic poverty alleviation.
Institutionally, different organisations can mop up individual contributions and then utilize the same in a planned manner on behalf of the poor. For example, one organization can spend charitable resources to set up a school for the children of the poor, another can establish a vocational institution so that the poor can train and find jobs and add to human resources, another institution can set up a medical centre devoted exclusively to the poor and so on. Perhaps such institutional charities-- catering to the longer term needs of the poor --can play a more useful role in wider and sustainable improvement in their conditions than the present scattered acts of individual charities that satisfy mainly basic consumption needs.
The giving of zakat or charity by resourceful Muslims to the poor is one of the pillars of Islam. But Islam does not encourage zakat as a demonstration of wealth and ego satisfaction. Zakat should be rightly given without any demonstration effect of the same, humbly and without drawing attention. But the rules are more violated than observed that give rise to tragedies. Thus, one is shocked to see sometimes deaths and injuries from stampedes during distribution of zakat clothes or money at this time of the year.
It is not that Bangladeshis generally are discharging their zakat obligation in such an irresponsible way. But that many people are not practicing the religiously approved manner of giving zakat and causing harms, requires that they should be made conscious and admonished into changing their ways. The imams of the mosques can play a truly useful role in this matter by  reiterating in their sermons at prayer time in mosques during Ramadan how zakat resources need to be distributed to conform with true Islamic injunctions . Government can utilise the mass media to make people more conscious of their responsibilities in this regard.
According to Islamic ideals, the best way to give zakat is to make people enabled and productive to earn a living so that they do not ultimately feel the need for taking zakat. One recalls in this connection, the story of Prophet Mohammed (SM) giving an axe to a poor man to use for cutting down trees to earn a living. He was not given alms which he would consume and ask for more.
Thus, there is a lesson here for Muslim societies. Indeed, there are examples of the ideal course of mobilising of zakat funds in countries such as Malaysia where zakat  resources are pooled together to build schools, orphanages, vocational training centres, dwelling units, hospitals, businesses and other organisations entirely for providing free services to the poor.
Some 60 per cent out of the total number of well over 160 million Bangladeshi are considered to have an existence above the internationally defined poverty line. Thus, there is a vast number of people in this country eligible for paying the religiously mandated zakat from their incomes and wealth. And out of the 60 per cent above the poverty line, at least 5 to 8 per cent are very very rich. There is, therefore, the potential to receive and pool together a huge amount of money on a regular basis as zakat and utilize the same in a planned manner for sustainable poverty alleviation.
The writer is a contributor to The Independent

 

According to Islamic ideals, the best way to give zakat is to make people enabled and productive to earn a living so that they do not ultimately feel the need for taking zakat

The best way of giving Zakat

Well-off people in Bangladesh are seen donating clothes, cash, foods and other goods among the poor on religious occasions such as the holy month of Ramadan and the Eids. Charities during religious occasions and at other times have a role in helping the poor. But the charitable goods are mainly of a consumptive nature. Therefore, one is inclined to thinking whether the poor would be benefited greater and in a long lasting way if the resources spent on disparate individual charities could be pooled together for systematic poverty alleviation. Institutionally, different organisations can mop up individual contributions and then utilize the same in a planned manner on behalf of the poor. For example, one organization can spend charitable resources to set up a school for the children of the poor, another can establish a vocational institution so that the poor can train and find jobs and add to human resources, another institution can set up a medical centre devoted exclusively to the poor and so on. Perhaps such institutional charities-- catering to the longer term needs of the poor --can play a more useful role in wider and sustainable improvement in their conditions than the present scattered acts of individual charities that satisfy mainly basic consumption needs. The giving of zakat or charity by resourceful Muslims to the poor is one of the pillars of Islam. But Islam does not encourage zakat as a demonstration of wealth and ego satisfaction. Zakat should be rightly given without any demonstration effect of the same, humbly and without drawing attention. But the rules are more violated than observed that give rise to tragedies. Thus, one is shocked to see sometimes deaths and injuries from stampedes during distribution of zakat clothes or money at this time of the year. It is not that Bangladeshis generally are discharging their zakat obligation in such an irresponsible way. But that many people are not practicing the religiously approved manner of giving zakat and causing harms, requires that they should be made conscious and admonished into changing their ways. The imams of the mosques can play a truly useful role in this matter by reiterating in their sermons at prayer time in mosques during Ramadan how zakat resources need to be distributed to conform with true Islamic injunctions . Government can utilise the mass media to make people more conscious of their responsibilities in this regard. According to Islamic ideals, the best way to give zakat is to make people enabled and productive to earn a living so that they do not ultimately feel the need for taking zakat. One recalls in this connection, the story of Prophet Mohammed (SM) giving an axe to a poor man to use for cutting down trees to earn a living. He was not given alms which he would consume and ask for more. Thus, there is a lesson here for Muslim societies. Indeed, there are examples of the ideal course of mobilising of zakat funds in countries such as Malaysia where zakat resources are pooled together to build schools, orphanages, vocational training centres, dwelling units, hospitals, businesses and other organisations entirely for providing free services to the poor. Some 60 per cent out of the total number of well over 160 million Bangladeshi are considered to have an existence above the internationally defined poverty line. Thus, there is a vast number of people in this country eligible for paying the religiously mandated zakat from their incomes and wealth. And out of the 60 per cent above the poverty line, at least 5 to 8 per cent are very very rich. There is, therefore, the potential to receive and pool together a huge amount of money on a regular basis as zakat and utilize the same in a planned manner for sustainable poverty alleviation. The writer is a contributor to The Independent