Pakistan, Ramadan, and Zakat!

Ramadan is a religiously important time of the year for believers of Islam, but at the same time, its economic aspects cannot be denied. Charity in Islam is classified into two types: voluntary and compulsory. Voluntary donations can be placed under Sadaqah, while the obligatory portion which is actually more of an obligation is called Zakat. Zakat has been considered one of the most important pillars of Islam since its inception. Zakat occupies a very important place among the prohibitions of Islam. The importance of Zakat can be gauged from the fact that 82 verses have been mentioned in the Qur'an in which Zakat has been kept equivalent to prayer (Salah). Along with this, we get a depiction of the establishment of the system of Zakat in the early centuries of Islam in many hadiths.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan is a declared Islamic country and here Zakat is controlled by the government. The Zakat Council is the body responsible for collecting and distributing Islamic taxes known as Zakat and Ushr in Pakistan, which functions under the control of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It may be recalled that General Zia-ul- Haq‘s radical rule in the 1980’s system of compulsory collection of Ushr and Zakat began. For this, an ordinance was brought by which a 2.5% annual deduction was made automatically from personal bank accounts on the first day of Ramadan.

After the 18th Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in 2010, the system of zakat fell into the hands of the provinces and the Federal Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 was repealed. And in light of this new amendment, all the provinces adopted their respective Zakat and Ushr Acts in 2011.

Punjab enacted the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Act 2018, on 15 February 2018, while Sindh enacted the Sindh Zakat and Ushr Act 2011 on 7 April 2011, amended again on 25 August 2015 and 24 January 2019 to create a new Sindh Zakat and Ushr Act, 2018. The Ushr (Amendment) Act 2019 came into force. Now where Zakat is determined by the Zakat Council while the provincial governments are responsible for its collection.

According to a notification issued by the government-appointed Zakat Administrator in Pakistan on April 11, the government has fixed the settlement amount of Zakat at Rs 80,933 for the current lunar year 1441-42 Hijri. This means that if a Muslim has savings on the first day of Ramadan, more than this amount in profit and bank accounts on then he will have to pay 2.5 percent of the remaining money as Zakat. Thus, from the Nisab to be determined on the basis of the person's wealth, the higher the property, the higher the value of Zakat.

Pakistan which is one of the countries with the largest Islamic population in the world by population collects a huge amount of money every year in the form of Zakat. However, now instead of the banking system, people provide fixed funds in the form of Zakat to various religious and social organizations. Another where the claimant of this Zakat in Pakistan are philanthropic organizations like Edhi Foundation, which provides the largest ambulance network in Pakistan and also works to provide health and medical facilities to the majority of the underprivileged section of Pakistan, which even the government does not reach.

But on the other hand, the ever-increasing fanatics network in Pakistan remains the biggest claimant of this Zakat. Various radical Islamic organizations in Pakistan collect money in the name of Islam and use this money for various violent activities. Banned extremist organizations like Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, and Jamaat-ul-Furqan which are linked to TTP and Al Qaeda, have been collecting money in the name of Ansar-ul-Umma and Tehreek-e-Galba Islam respectively. These organizations take advantage of the generosity of Pakistani Muslims. So-called charitable organizations like Falah-e-Insaniyat, created by terrorists like Hafiz Saeed, collect huge amounts of money and spend it on the spread of Islamic terrorism. These funds are used by these organizations for Dawa (Preaching), Khidmat-e-Khalk (Provision of Social Services), and Jihad, including recruitment and training in these terrorist organizations, and the purchase of equipment and weapons. Along with this, a large part of the charitable money collected in this way around the world goes to terrorist organizations in Pakistan. Organizations engaged in illegal money laundering like Pakistan Relief Foundation, Azmat-e-Pakistan Trust have been involved in bringing such money into Pakistan.

Zakat promoted as an effective way to reduce poverty and social discrimination. In accordance with Islamic injunctions, the government is required to spend the amount of zakat on specified items mentioned in the Qur'an 9:60–66, which serves as a directive principle for governments in Pakistan. Several factors are responsible for the failure of the governments of Pakistan to use this money collected as Zakat positively. No one in the government and army wants to take confrontation with these fundamentalists, in such a situation this appeasement goes on continuously. Due to pandemic like covid-19, where the financial condition of Pakistan going worst, a large number of people have become unemployed and in such a situation the money which is collected in the form of Zakat, if it is actually spent in the interest of the people, it will be a great service to the suffering humanity.

In this direction, the work done by the provincial government of Sindh in diverting zakat money from terrorism is commendable. In the information sent to the Sindh Vidhan Sabha on 24 April 2021, it has been told that no financial assistance can be given to any madrasa from the Zakat fund without obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Home Department and the district administration. Although there are many holes in this system, yet such efforts will work to divert this money from terrorism towards human interest.