ZSF empowers Muslims during holiday season

As part of efforts to ensure the less privilege has a worry-free holiday season, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation has partnered with O.I.E Majmuh to put a smile on indigents Muslims.

The groups provide relief packages to residents of Oshodi, Isolo and Ejigbo LCDA as an intervention to complement government efforts to alleviate poverty at the grassroots level.

Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation Oshodi, Isolo LCDA (ZSF) staff, Abu Bakre Soliah said the Community Relief Package is one of those medium ZSF use to put a smile on Muslim indigents. “We have decided to give people this relief package during this holiday season because a lot of activities are going on in the society and we don’t want a situation whereby some Muslims will take unlawful food because they are hungry. We want the less privilege Muslims to be happy and that is why we have decided to give them food items to put a smile on their faces”.

According to her, She said the programe will hold at Ejigbo and Ilasa LCDA and 80 people would benefit from the program. “The beneficiaries will go home with rice, semovita, tomatoes paste, clothes, shoes, and bags.

She added that awareness towards obligation of Zakat is growing among resident of Ejigbo community and a lot of sensitization is also going on to ensure that more wealthy Muslims pay their Zakat.

“ People are turning up to pay their Zakat, immediately we talk to them on the benefit of Zakat they yield and pay their Zakat.

‘Due to the trust they have for ZSF in Ejigbo we give all praises to Allah, there is a tremendous change in this year proceeds compare to last year. We are able to raise 1.5 million this year”.

The Head of O.I.E Majmuh, Tajudeen Abdulgany Ogunbona said the group has been providing people with necessary basic amenities since 2014 in order to ensure that Muslim are steadfast on the part of the Deen.

“We felt that by doing this it will go a long way in assisting Muslims so that they can also enjoy themselves in this religion of Islam and they will never think of leaving Islam due to the trial they are passing through.

“ We have been helping people, which has made most of the firm in Islam during the period of adversity. Even Non-muslims benefit from this programme,” he said.

He said due to the economic situation in the country the groups have decided to give people food. “There is an urgent need to address the problem of food shortage in the society.

He noted that the aim and objective of O.I. E is to impact the community positively by alleviating people from hardship. “ Majorly most of our project impact the life of people and the only way we thought we can impact on people is to assist them both financially and spiritually. We are also planning to pay a visit to prisons and provide relief materials to inmates.

He commended Zakat payee saying that they should continue to pay their Zakat because the reward is enormous.
“The more we pay Zakat the more people the life of Muslims will be better and people will continue to enter into the fold of Islam.

He said Zakat would alleviate poverty in Nigeria, if the presidents, governors and stakeholders in Nigeria can key into it. “The prophet (SAW) use and likewise other Muslim leaders use it to alleviate poverty. Such that when you see less privileged people give them out of Zakat proceeds.

ZSF Isolo, Ejigbo LCDA Treasurer, Kehinde Moruf said the programme was brought to the grassroots due to lessons learned in Islam that the best in Islam is one who does good to others. “Although ZSF Zakat disbursement is majorly done at the state level, we decided to bring it to the grassroots because we want Muslims at the grassroots to also benefit from proceeds because most of them may not have the opportunity to benefit at the yearly ZSF disbursement due to a high number of beneficiaries and insufficient funds.

He noted that about 250, 000 naira was allocated for the project and 80 families would benefit from the community relief package.

He added that the third pillar of Islam which is zakat is used it to better the society, so that wealth will be collected from the rich and redistributed among the poor.

“ Those that have will help those that does not have and likewise the rich will not be envied by the poor and they will be save”