Hyderabadi Muslims pay Rs.1000 cr Zakaat every Ramadan

HYDERABAD: Zakaat, one of the five pillars of Islam, is an obligatory system of charity for every well-to-do Muslim as a measure to remove economic inequality.

According to Islamic scholars, every Muslim whose assets reached ‘nisab’ or minimum value (current market price of 87.48 gm of gold or 612.36 gm of silver) has to pay 2.5 percent Islamic annual tax on his wealth.

The annual zakaat collection in Hyderabad city alone is Rs.1,000 Crore. The money gets scattered among individual Muslims, Madrasas and charity organisations.

Many organisations collect zakaat and use it for the poor and needy.

The Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust is delivering tangible results in collecting and channelising the mandatory charity.

“If Zakat is distributed through a collective system, it can address the needs of the underprivileged and the needy in an organised and systematic manner,” feels Ghaisuddin Babukhan, Chairman HZCT.

Many well-heeled Muslims in Hyderabad don’t pay total zakaat. If all pay zakat in full and it is channelled properly, it can lift the community out of poverty and illiteracy and improve their economic conditions.