THE collection and distribution of zakat by the state has once more come under discussion, this time due to the Supreme Court taking up a suo motu case concerning the government’s handling of this religious obligation. The mandatory deduction of zakat at source from bank accounts is a holdover from the Ziaul Haq era, when the military dictator introduced various laws to ‘Islamicise’ the state. During a hearing last month, the apex court questioned transparency in the distribution of zakat funds, with the chief justice commenting that there was no clear information about how zakat funds were deducted and provided to deserving persons. At a follow-up hearing this week, religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani — who had been asked by the court to give his observations — said that if a fresh zakat collection and distribution system could not be put in place, perhaps it was time the state let go of the management of this religious tax.

Even when the mandatory deduction of zakat was introduced by Gen Zia, it was not without controversy. For example, in 1980 Shia protesters marched on Islamabad to protest the forced deduction of zakat. The primary reason for this was that the methodology used to calculate zakat differs in the Jafari fiqh as compared to Hanafi law. Zia had to relent. Later, members of all other sects could also opt out. In fact, just before the first of Ramazan, people belonging to these sects file affidavits or empty out their bank accounts to prevent the deduction of zakat. The fact is that there is a wide trust deficit between the state and the people; citizens are right in asking where and how their zakat funds will be spent. As the learned judges of the apex court also questioned, how can an amount collected for the poor be spent on “foreign trips, TA/DA or salaries. ...”

With the matter currently being reviewed, this would be a good time to revisit the mandatory deduction of zakat by the state. As it is, Pakistanis are a generous nation. According to various figures, people in this country give billions of rupees in charity annually. The fact is that the state — with its various deficiencies — has no business forcibly collecting zakat. This is a matter between man and his Maker, and should remain as such. Moreover, with such controversy surrounding the spending of zakat funds, it is doubtful that the government can reform the system. Let people give zakat and other dues on their own. After all, many organisations working in the health and education sector have done stellar jobs by spending people’s zakat and donations for the uplift of this nation’s poor, sick and hungry in a transparent, responsible manner. It is about time the state stopped forced deduction, and let citizens give zakat to people or organisations of their choice.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020