Islamic Minister Dr. Ahmed Ziyad Baqir has stated that this year zakat will be taken from all eligible individuals.
Dr. Ziyad said only 10 percent of the population paid zakat, which goes against one of the basic tenets of Islam.
“Zakat cannot be paid at one’s discretion. Zakat has to be taken by the state, as commanded in Islam,” he said.
Islamic Ministry has been conducting awareness campaigns on paying zakat, which had resulted in a record amount collected as zakat last year. This year, zakat fund will begin with an MVR 80 million deposit.
Some countries had practice a policy of deducting zakat from company shares and bank deposits. In those countries, share earnings are released only after zakat payment slips were submitted as proof.
Zakat is based on income and the value of all of one's possessions. It is customarily 2.5% of a Muslim's total savings and wealth above a minimum amount known as nisab, which amounts to MVR 4,212.60.