Practice of zakah distribution of MAIWP : an analytical juristic study

Abstract

Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (Islamic Religious Council of the Federal Territory) collected RM823.579 million zakah in 2021 and distributed 90 percent of it. This is one of the highest zakah collection rates among State Islamic Religious Councils in Malaysia, and it is evidence of the efficiency of zakah management by MAIWP. Even though there have been several studies about MAIWP in the past, studies about MAIWP’s zakah management from a fiqh perspective are in short supply. Therefore, there is a need to examine this issue. Accordingly, this research aims to study the management of zakah by MAIWP from a juristic perspective, particularly its zakah distribution practices. This will include, inter alia, MAIWP’s redefinition of zakah recipients, various means of zakah distribution, companies and institutions that carry out assistance schemes on MAIWP’s behalf, and selected juristic issues concerning zakah distribution. The research has adopted a qualitative approach consisting of data collection and analysis from MAIWP’s website, MAIWP and PPZ’s annual reports, fatwa issued by various Islamic countries, as well as the writings of both classical and contemporary jurists. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with officials in the MAIWP’s relevant departments and academicians. The study revealed that MAIWP is the pioneering State Islamic Religious Council to establish PPZ, a corporation solely dedicated to zakah collection. Moreover, a significant portion of MAIWP’s zakah distribution in 2020 was carried out through assistance schemes such as welfare, economy, medicine, preaching and community development, protection, and education. The study found that it is permissible to delay zakah distribution for reasons such as benefit (maṣlaḥah) or necessity (ḍarurah), as well as to invest zakah, provided that the conditions stipulated by scholars are adhered to. In addition, the research also suggested a broadened understanding of tamiīk beyond individual ownership, allowing for collective ownership. It is hoped that this research will give a better understanding of the matter at hand and assist MAIWP and concerned authorities in improving and developing zakah administration in accordance with Islamic law.