• Says over 100m Nigerians living in poverty
• Zakat established to eradicate poverty: Shafi’i
No fewer than seventy (70) poor Nigerians on Wednesday smiled home as they were presented cheques worth fifteen million naira (N15,000,000) for economic empowerment, health, livelihood and educational intervention, among others, at the 2023 Zakat Distribution Ceremony organised by Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation in Lagos State.
The elated beneficiaries also received items such as 4 deep freezers, 3 industrial sewing machines, 3 straight sewing machines, 2 gas cookers, 2 generators, 2 laptops, and a grinding machine, among others, during the 8th edition of the annual Zakat distribution, held at Beleke Smith Memorial Central Mosque, Surulere, Lagos.
The Executive Officer of the Foundation, Dr. Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, in his report, said the Foundation recorded a 66.7 percent improvement in the Zakat fund disbursed this teats, as against the 50 percent increase witnessed last year.
According to him, during this period last year, the foundation disbursed Zakat both in kind and cash to the tune of Nine Million Naira (N9,000,000) to 42 beneficiaries.
“At this gathering, the foundation is set to distribute Zakat funds as well as items worth Fifteen Million Naira (N15,000,000) to a total number of 70 beneficiaries.
“This accomplishment could not have been possible without the patronage of our existing and new Zakat payers, who have consistently reposed their confidence in us to distribute their Zakat efficiently to deserving beneficiaries. We ask Allah to continue to bless the Zakat payers’ wealth, families and enterprises as they continue to support the cause of Allah and humanity
Half of Nigeria’s population living in poverty – Dr. Shuaib
The Jaiz CEO noted that more than 100 million Nigerians are seriously suffering from multi-dimensional poverty with a persistent rise in inflation followed by its attendant consequences of high cost of household items, rising prices of food items, fuel, electricity and transportation fare, among others.
He said, “At Jaiz Foundation, we are concerned by the worsening living conditions of the weak, poor, needy, ill-treated and vulnerable among men, women, and children, whose cry is: Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are wrongdoers; and raise for us from You (one who will provide us socio-economic well-being) protection and raise for us from You one who will help (us to achieve it)” Q4:75
“In light of this, I am delighted to mention that Jaiz Foundation took it upon itself to respond to the clarion call of the weak, poor and needy. As usual, the Foundation is always inspired to wipe off the tears and soothe the pains of the aforementioned people,” he said.
The CEO of Jaiz, Nigeria’s leading nonprofit foundation championing formal collection and distribution of zakat, the third pillar of Islam, said the goal of the exercise is to empower weak, vulnerable Nigerians and urged the beneficiaries to utilise the zakat proceeds effectively.
He said, “It is important to note that the goal of this intervention is to empower the weak among us to engage them in productive ventures to make them self-reliant and financially independent in meeting their daily needs, among others. Therefore, we urge all the beneficiaries to utilize either the zakat fund or items effectively so that the purpose of the intervention is attained in the coming days or months inshaa’ Allah.
“Conclusively, on behalf of Jaiz Foundation, I sincerely appreciate all our guests, collaborating organizations and media partners for your support at all times. I pray Allah to reward you all abundantly, both in this world and the hereafter,” he noted.
Zakat institution established to eradicate poverty – Shafi’i
In his lecture which centered on eradicating poverty in Islam, the Grand Mufti of Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i said the zakat institution was established to eradicate mankind from poverty.
According to him, Islam is the only religion ordained by Allah for mankind. It is established upon five pillars, out of which the third pillar is zakat, meant to eradicate poverty. It is also a means towards economic empowerment and societal reformation.
The revered Islamic scholar encouraged those eligible to pay their zakat while also advising the administrators and recipients.
“Those eligible are expected to remove zakat from their wealth as and when due. The administrators should also ensure that only eligible beneficiaries enjoy it, just like Jaiz charity Foundation screens people that qualify to receive zakat. They have been doing great job in the screening exercise which I am also part of. The process is transparent. They deserve the praise.
“The beneficiaries should use the zakat proceeds for the right purpose without diverting it for another purposes, with the intention that they too will pay zakat sooner or later. It’s an amanah (trust) and Almighty Allah will ask every beneficiary on the day of judgement (what you did with the zakat given to you). Also, beneficiaries should strive not to always request for zakat but to be in a position to give it out.
“Finally, we need to encourage the rich Muslims among us to pay zakat to reliable foundations such as Jaiz. We should also encourage the rich to invest in waqf (endowment fund), because it is something that is not common in our society.”
Olagunju commends Jaiz for monitoring impact of zakat on beneficiaries
One of the special guests at the event, the Executive Director (ED) of Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, Prince Sulaiman Olagunju praised Jaiz charity foundation team for putting smiles on the faces of the poor despite the limited resources at their disposal.
He said, when it comes to zakat collection in this country, Jaiz charity is a force to be reckoned with and looking at what it has done today, you can only but rate the foundation as one of the best in Nigeria.
Prince Olagunju commended Jaiz for putting mechanism in place to monitor the impact of zakat collected by beneficiaries.
According to him, “We don’t give zakat to people without putting monitoring and evaluation system in place. It’s the starting point and Jaiz must be commended for doing that. The foundation has a form the beneficiaries will fill having collected the items. The next thing is monitoring system to ensure that those things are not diverted. Every foundation including mine (Zakat and Sadaqat) has the system in place. That’s why we will continue to monitor and sensitise them on the effective use of the proceeds,” he noted.
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