GST or Zakah

Please pay 40% extra if you pay online.

Zakah is being used for social purposes which negates the very purpose of the eight categories fixed by Allah in the Quran.

Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and........ [9: 60]

Moreover, If the relatives of a person fall in these 8 categories, they are more entitled and they have priority in receiving the Zakah. Furthermore, the reward is doubled if it is given to the relatives.

Salmaan ibn ‘Aamer (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Giving charity to the poor is considered only as charity, while giving it to the relatives is considered as charity and keeping ties with kinship." [At-Tirmithi] 658; graded as Sahih by al-Albaani.

One important point that all the scholars have agreed upon which our modern activists either don’t know or neglect is that after giving Zakah to the relatives it should be distributed in the area where the rich person lives. The Prophet PBUH has clearly said in the Hadith:

It should be collected from their rich and distributed among their poor.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Our Deen emphasizes a lot on taking care of neighbours.

Hence, all the scholars have agreed that the poor who are in the area of the rich are more entitled to receive the Zakah than others. If there are no poor in his area then it could be transferred to a nearby area.

Based on the above Hadith, it is agreed by all the scholars that zakah shouldn’t be transferred from one place to another unless there are no poor or any valid religious reason.

These days, it has become a trend or the modern activists taught the people to pay the Zakah online. In this process they are harming the poor more than benefiting them and they are ignoring all religious principles of giving out the Zakah to the relatives and to those who are living in their area.

Moreover, a lot of Zakah money is being wasted in web development, hosting domain, maintenance of portals, advertisement of their activities, hiring manpower, huge expenses of the operations and administrations.

Are the poor benefiting from this or are they themselves directly or indirectly benefiting from it?

They might be receiving salaries or a percentage of the collection for their activities or at least they are getting the contracts of web designing, flyer designing for their companies.

I have discussed this issue in detail in my article namely, 'Zakah for Dawah or to the Poor'. It can be accessed by the following link: Zakah for Dawah or to the Poor

It is a rule on the online platforms to pay 2.5 % of the amount to the payment gateway, plus 18% GST from the collected amount, plus TDS around 5% when they distribute the amount.

In short, 40% of the Zakah amount is being used in official charges!

If you pay the Zakah to your relatives and the needy in your area, you get a greater reward and you can avoid wasting the 40% of Zakah in these unnecessary charges.

If you insist on paying online, please pay 40%extra because it didn't reach to the poor.

May Allah guide us to the right understanding of the religion.

Sheikh Abdus Salam al-Madani

Founder,

Aspire College of Excellence