ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1990, particularly its provisions concerning mandatory Zakat deduction from bank accounts on the first of Ramazan, has been challenged in the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) which will take up a number of petitions on the issue in Karachi in October.

The petitioners have described certain provisions of the ordinance as repugnant to the Holy Quran and Sunnah, especially the procedure of Zakat deduction.

It has been pointed out that Zakat applies to amounts of money remaining in the possession of a person for full one year while under the present procedure it is deducted at source from savings accounts even if the money was deposited one day before the first of Ramazan.

The petitioners have also questioned the deduction of Zakat on money instead of gold and silver as prescribed by the Islamic teachings.

Fazal Elahi Qazi, senior research adviser at the FSC, told Dawn that the petitioners had raised 15 points. The FSC has sought views of prominent scholars from various universities and eminent ulema.

The petitions will be heard by FSC’s full bench comprising Chief Justice Haziqul Khairi, Justice Dr. Fida Muhammad Khan and Justice Salahuddin Mirza.

Those who have been invited to address the FSC include heads of department of Islamic Studies, University of Karachi and Punjab University, Dean of the Faculty of Shariat Law, International Islamic University, Dr. Khalid Masood, chairman of the Islamic Ideology Council, Prof. Mehmood Ahmed Ghazi, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri, Mufti Rafi Usmani, Allama Talib Jauhri, and Allama Abbas Kumeli.