Blog Ekonomi Syariah

The Impacts of Zakat Act Revision in Indonesia

Zakat (Wealth Sharing) is the fourth pillar of Islam. The word Zakat is derived from Arabic means both “purification” and “growth”. The definition of Zakat is the amount of money that every adult, mentally stable, free, and financially able Muslim, male and female, has to pay to support specific categories people. This category of people is defined in surah at-Taubah (9) verse 60: “The aims are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is knower, Wise.” (The Holy Qur’an 9:60). The obligatory nature of Zakat is firmly established in the Qur’an, the Sunnah (or hadith), and the consensus of the companions and the Muslim scholars. Allah states in Surah at-Taubah verses 34-35: “O ye who believe! there are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in Falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah. announce unto them a most grievous penalty – On the Day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, their flanks, and their backs.- “This is the (treasure) which ye buried for yourselves: taste ye, then, the (treasures) ye buried!” (The Holy Qur’an 9:34-35).

In Indonesia, Zakat is regulated by Zakat Management Act number 38 of 1999. The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) wants to pass the revision of the Zakat Act Number 38 of 1999 soon. This kind of revision will bring the impacts for the Zakat management in the future. Those impacts are the impose of the punishment for the Muslim who are financially able but unwilling to pay zakat, the tax compensation for the Muslim who has paid zakat, the centralization of Zakat management. There are still some issues relating to this revision, such as what kind of punishment that the government will impose, the procedure on tax compensation, and the future of the private sector of Lembaga Amil Zakat, like Dompet Dhuafa. We hope that the implementation of the Zakat Act revision will bring the good impacts for the zakat management in Indonesia in the future.

References: http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/Zakat/, http://www.hidayatullah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10104:revisi-uu-zakat-tinggal-digodok-dpr&catid=1:nasional&Itemid=54

By: Muhammad Gery Adlan, 10208847, 2 EA 09

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