MANZAP assists 14 at first zakat distribution

ABOUT 14 individuals received funds and equipment at the first zakat distribution ceremony of the Muslim Association of Nigeria Zakat Administration Programme (MANZAP), held earlier in the week in Ibadan, Oyo State.

MANZAP is a zakat flagship intervention of the Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ibadan branch, designed to provide the services of collection and distribution of zakat (obligatory tax for Muslims) and sadaqat (voluntary donation) for the benefit of deserving beneficiaries.

The MANZAP chairman, Alhaji Wale Abdul Ganiy, said about N1 million, collected in the course of 2017, was distributed to the beneficiaries whom he urged to justify their consideration by using the funds properly.

Alhaji Abdul Ganiy expressed concern that zakat, a critical economic and social security aspect, had been the most neglected of the five pillars of Islam due to lack of sustainable structures to drive it.

The MANZAP chairman said some Muslim countries had developed based on their positive attitude to zakat, adding that the need to also make a difference locally in this regard culminated in the establishment of MANZAP.

He noted that MANZAP also administers sadaqah to encourage those who might not be eligible to pay zakat to participate in providing succor to the poor and vulnerable, saying “this aligns with our belief  and popular saying about zakat that ‘if you are not zakatable, you are sadaqatable.’”

The chairman on the occasion, Alhaji Waheed Olajide, who is a former president of MAN, in an address, underlined the need for Muslims to always show interest in the problems of other people as a potent spiritual insurance for themselves against misfortune.

Alhaji Olajide said every Muslim should intend to become eligible to pay zakat in order to be part of the crusade to redistribute wealth and lift people from poverty and squalor.