No fewer than 27 indigent Muslims, on Sunday in Ibadan benefited from N2 million Zakat distribution which was aimed at relieving them of their financial constraints.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 26 of the beneficiaries received N75,000 each while one person got N50,000.
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NAN reports that Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, is 2.5 percent of one’s total wealth that must be paid to the poor by wealthy Muslims once a year in order to reduce poverty among Muslims and the society in general.
The anchor of the zakat distribution, Mr. Ismail Saka, said that the N2 million zakat was handed over to him in trust by an individual who preferred to remain anonymous.
Saka said that the beneficiaries were grouped into five categories comprising the aged, widows, students, poor, and those with health challenges.
He said that he decided to share the N2 million among the 27 beneficiaries so that each of them would receive a substantial amount that could be used to start a business or tackle their personal challenges.
Saka said that sharing the money among a large number of people would drastically reduce the amount to be benefited by the beneficiaries and defeat the aim of setting up Zakat.
He said the purpose of ordering payment of zakat by Allah was to make the beneficiaries independent, reduce poverty and make them rich so that they could also become givers of zakat in the future.
In a lecture at the occasion, Prof. Moruf Oke, said that neglecting the payment of Zakat by wealthy Muslims was responsible for the high rate of poverty among Muslims and society in general.
Oke said that payment of zakat would reduce poverty and insecurity, and bring peace into the society.
He, therefore, called on Muslims to shun acts that could deter them from obeying Allah’s commandments.
The chairman of the occasion, Justice Tajudeen Abdul-Ganiy, called on the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money so that they could also become givers of Zakat in the future.
Abdul-Ganiy called on wealthy Muslims to emulate the donor, adding that doing so would curb insecurity and other challenges in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr. Nurudeen Rafiu, promised to make judicious use of the money while commending the donor for the gesture.
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