By Norhayati Umor
SHAH ALAM, Nov 4 — The Selangor palace issued a statement stressing that the zakat collection in Selangor must be distributed to only the less fortunate Muslims.
Signed by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s private secretary Dato’ Mohamad Munir Bani, the statement carried a message directly from the Selangor Ruler stating that though Islam is a religion that champions human rights, the distribution of zakat that has been collected by Muslim contributors should be used only to the eight categories (asnaf) of Muslim recipients.
“As we all know, the responsibility to pay zakat is one of the pillars of Islam and has to be fulfilled by the Muslims.
“On the distribution of the zakat collection, the Selangor Ruler had sought the advice of Selangor Mufti that the distribution of zakat to non-Muslims is only permissible if the individual, through the contribution, would embrace Islam, which is categorised under the Mu’allafati Qulubuhum asnaf,” Mohamad Munir said in a statement, today.
He said many who are of the rural and urban poor in Selangor would benefit from the zakat collection, and that the state population is mostly made up Muslims in which the number continues to increase.
Mohamad Munir said that it is the government’s responsibility to provide aid to the less fortunate among the non-Muslim community through relevant departments and agencies.
“The Selangor Ruler would also like to remind that the functions of zakat collection and income tax are different. People should understand the different roles played by different bodies.
“The Sultan of Selangor had also requested that the issue on zakat distribution to not be debated out in the open through the media. Issues related to Islam should not be used by any parties to gain popularity or to appease to any particular party,” the statement read.
The Ruler’s message comes in the wake of reports on social media citing two Muftis and a politician on the issue of zakat distribution to non-Muslims in the country.
