EN
ID
ACTNews, SOUTH
JAKARTA – The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) has issued a fatwa regarding professional
zakat 18 years ago, on June 7, 2003. What does the fatwa say about professional
zakat?
The basis of MUI’s
fatwa is Surah Al-Baqarah verse 267 in which Allah says, “O you who have
believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which
We have produced for you from the earth. And do not aim toward the defective
therefrom, spending [from that] while you would not take it [yourself] except
with closed eyes. And know that Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.”
In addition, the
fatwa is also based on Surah At-Tawbah verse 103 in which Allah says,” Take, [O
Muḥammad], from their wealth a charity by which you
purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them.
Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and
Knowing.
The fatwa is also based on hadith or Prophetic traditions, one of which is narrated by Imam Ahmad: From Abu Hurairah, the Messenger of Allah said, “Charity is only taken when you are self-sufficient, and the upper hand is better than the lower hand, and start with those for whom you are responsible."
Your professional zakat makes orphaned students and Qur’an memorizers
happy. (ACTNews)
In addition, the
Indonesian Ulama Council also based their fatwa on the opinion of a
contemporary Muslim scholar Yusuf Qaradawi who stated that Islam does not
require zakat on all wealth. Rather, the obligation is when one’s wealth
reaches the nisab (the minimum amount
that a Muslim must have before being obliged to give zakat) after due debts and
a muzakki and his or her dependents’ primary needs are subtracted. The nisab of professional zakat is 85 grams
of gold.
MUI’s fatwa
further explains that what is meant by zakat-eligible income is any income such
as salaries, honoraria, wages, services, and others that are obtained in a
lawful way, both regularly (such as that of state officials and private
employees), or non-regularly (such as that of doctors, lawyers, consultants, as
well as income derived from other freelance work).
Furthermore, the
MUI fatwa stipulates that zakat must be performed on all forms of halal income
is on condition that it has reached the nisab
and has been kept in one full hijri year. which is worth 85 grams of gold or
2.5 percent. Income zakat can be issued at the time of receipt if the nisab is sufficient.
MUI proposes two
ways of deducing professional zakat. The first is that the zakat is deduced
every month if the estimated total amount of salary in one lunar year reaches
the nisab. Second, if the estimated
total salary does not meet the nisab,
then the zakat is paid once the wealth that one owns reaches the nisab and is kept for one lunar year.
Digital platforms make zakat payment easier and more accessible
Global Zakat-ACT
continues to encourage people to pay zakat on their wealth. Technological advancement
makes zakat payment easier.
Sutaryo from the
Global Zakat-ACT team explained, Global Zakat-ACT makes professional zakat
payment easier and accessible to everyone. Through Indonesia Dermawan website
and app, paying professional zakat can be done anywhere, anytime.
“The system managed
by Global Zakat-ACT facilitates those who want to pay their zakat through
digital platforms that makes zakat payments easier and more accessible to the
wider community," he concluded.[]
