Importance of ZAKAT in the establishment of the Society

Volume : IV, Issue : IV, April - 2015

Akhtar Hussain, Abdullah

Wealth is a most important thing to lead the life peacefully, fulfil the needs and wants, meet other obligatory rights and

it plays a significant role for the people specifically for the believers to earn either Heaven or Hell in the earth.

In another way Wealth is an �Amanat� from Almighty Allah (a trust that is entrusted to the individual). According to ISLAM mankind will have to

account for the wealth that Allah has entrusted to them in the hereafter.

In fact, the acquisition of wealth is one of the basic concerns and demands of mankind for survival (for food, shelter and cloth). Wealth–gathering

is important for surviving, but it must be subject to the law of moral. Without the law of moral, human life sinks to the level of being oriented

around money and could lead to moral decadence. Wealth–gathering is a legitimate activity as long as it does not entail theft, cheating, coercion,

Riba (usury), or harming of others.

Zakat is an important system of Islamic ideology therefore it plays an active role in establishment of spiritual and social life of the society. The

payment of Zakat is mandatory and obligatory for every Muslim whose wealth exceeds the prescribed limit.The system of Zakat is an important

source of the stability of the society. The system of Zakat ensures proper distribution of wealth and has wide impact on the entire set up of the

society. If Bait–ul–Mal is established as an institution, it will create a collective social security scheme for mutual help and the resources can be

further utilized for social development. This research paper is focused on to explicate the significance of Zakat as an institution and to elaborate

the impact of Zakat on social life of Muslim society.