Another important issue that can be brought about in the management of wealth in Islam is the paying of Zakat. Every Muslim who has the ability to pay the Zakat is obliged to do so. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. So now, you can see the great importance of paying the Zakat. Mostly in Islam Zakat is paid by the wealthy Muslims. Allah made the paying of Zakat compulsory for a reason. This was in order to help the poor and the needy Muslims or the Muslims who are completely unable to support themselves. I say paying the Zakat is a form of wealth management because the wealthy Muslims will be able to deliver some of there wealth to other needy Muslims. Therefore, in doing so the wealthier will not become more and more wealthy, but moderate. This is why God (Allah) made some people in this world rich and some poor. Wealth can be a very dangerous element because once a human being becomes possessed with this wealth. He will forget about his religion and God altogether. In order to get rid of this, Allah made compulsory for every Muslim to pay the Zakat.
However if you look at the conventional or the capitalist advocates, you will discover that most people have became inclined to their wealth that they do not have or follow any religion. In short they have become pagans. They also do not believe in the hereafter. This is so, because there is no form of wealth management such as paying the Zakat to the needy people around the world. This is why, the capitalist always concentrate on material satisfaction and not spiritual. They only seek material satisfaction and think of maximizing there wealth through all the means available, weather the right or wrong way. They also have this misconception of saying that their scarce resources and unlimited needs in the world. It is like saying that God did not know what he was doing. Because God created this world and made sure that people would be satisfied with whatever there is available.” The imposition of Zakat is to purify oneself as well as one’s own property.” “Islam believes if a wealthy person is accustomed to paying Zakat, his infatuation for wealth will be softened and it will be a source of advantage to him and the society in the end.”
“Alms are for the poor and the needy and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to the truth); for those in bandage and indebt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah and Allah in full of knowledge and wisdom”. (9: 60)
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said, “Zakat is not permissible for someone who is not in need except in five cases; someone fighting in the way of Allah, someone who collects Zakat, someone who has suffered (financial) loss (at the hands of debtors), someone who buys it with his own money, and someone who has a poor neighbor who receives some Zakat and gives some as a present to the one who is not in need.”
Zakat is obligatory on all Muslims capable of paying it. Capability is referred to as nisab, a taxable minimum. It is used for specific purpose and paid to specific groups of people or individuals. The Quran lists eight (8) recipients as in the above verse. The role that Zakat plays in the distribution of wealth and income is, without doubt, very important. It reduces the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and induces saving and consumption behaviors in addition to the fact that it helps mobilize income for redistribution.
Islam discourages funds to remain idle, simply because there is no interest, as compared to the conventional system which makes up for earned income with no effort involved. If we look at the saving decision, we notice that idle savings in Islam are penalized because a Muslim is expected to pay Zakat. At the end of the day he remains worse off because for every RM100 that he saves, he loses RM2.50 (2.5% Zakat ratio). Hence, his rational option would be to incorporate investment expectations into his savings decisions. Assuming he sees no light in the direction of investment expectations, he might cut savings and increase consumption in the process, which does not go along with the poor investment expectations. Thus, inclusion of these expectations in the savings decision paves way for a balanced system. Zakat allows a minimum living standard for all residents in an Islamic society, unlike in the capitalist system where the savings of the haves double and multiply through interest, and the have-nots have no social insurance because there is no Zakat.
In a capitalist system an individual might give out part of his wealth if and only when he denies to do so with out clear guidelines as to what, how, and how much he should give, because there is a possession kind of ownership. In an Islamic framework, Zakat illustrates a utilization kind of ownership and not that of a possession kind. The former kind of ownership accrues when wealth is utilized for its purpose and benefits derived from that wealth, else, the right of ownership is withdrawn, more especially in the case of land ownership.
Islam on the other hand, has clear guidelines as to what should be given out as Zakat, who should give out Zakat and how much he should give out (see Zakat at a glance). Zakat is obligatory on every eligible Muslim male or female, and is given for the pleasure of god and to earn his grace. On the things liable for Zakat, the prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said,
“There is no Zakat on less than five Awsaq of dates, there is no Zakat on less than five awsaq’ of silver and there is no Zakat on less than five camels. And in another Hadith, the prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said, “On’ land that is watered by rain or springs or any natural means there is (Zakat to pay of) a tenth. On irrigated land, there is (Zakat of) a twentieth (to pay).”
Author: Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ma’sum Billah
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