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The Elders Consultative Forum of Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, has distributed over N2 million as zakat (tax charity) to 116 indigent in Oyo State.
Chairman of the forum, Alhaji Lasun Sanusi, said the aim of zakat, which is the fifth pillar of Islam, was to redistribute wealth and reduce poverty among the Muslims and Nigerians in general.
Sanusi said that the rate of poverty among the Muslims in Nigeria was gradually increasing because the wealthy amongst the Muslims in this country failed to pay zakat.
The chairman said the payment of zakat was compulsory for the wealthy Muslims and Allah’s punishment awaits those that failed to do so.
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He said that most youths are leaving Nigeria for other countries of the world because of poverty, adding that regular payment of zakat would definitely reduce the trend.
Sanusi called on well-meaning Muslims to pay their zakat regularly, urging the beneficiaries to use the money judiciously so that they can also be a giver of zakat in future.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries received cash ranging from N10,000 to N30,000.
In his lecture, Dr AbdulRasheed AbdulAzeez, said payment of zakat by wealthy Muslims would purify their wealth and move them close to Allah.
Speaking on the topic: “Zakat: A veritable tool for Eradication of poverty in our Society”, Abdul Azeez said that zakat as prescribed by God would also reduce unemployment, create love and eradicate the issue of insecurity such as Boko Haram, kidnapping and other insecurity Nigeria currently facing.
Chairman of the occasion, Justice Mashud Abass, called for more enlightenment on the importance and consequences of zakat.
Abass said most wealthy Muslims are gradually forgetting that zakat was the fifth pillars of Islam mandatory to the wealthy.
He said that most Muslims now misinterprete Sadakat (aims giving) to means zakat which are completely different two different things.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr Abdulateef Adeoye and Aishat Yusuf commended the forum and promised to use the money judiciously.
