The Zakkat Committee in Hadejia Emirate Council, Jigawa on Tuesday distributed 777 bags of assorted grains to 777 less-privileged in Dumadumin-Kyaure District in Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area of the state.
Zakat is a form of charity or alms-giving, which is considered as a religious obligation in Islam.
Speaking shortly after the distribution, the committee’s Chairman, Alhaji Abdulfatah Abdulwahab, said the grains, which comprised millet and sorghum, were donated by wealthy farmers in the area.
Abdulwahab, who was represented by the Chief Imam of Hadejia, Sheikh Yusuf Abdulrahman, commended the farmers and herdsmen in the area for their consistency in the payment of zakat in the last three years.
Earlier, an Islamic scholar, Dr Umar Muhammad, said payment of zakkat was not only limited to millet and sorghum but extended to beans, sesame and ground nut, among others.
Also speaking, the Chief Imam of Kafin-Hausa, Sheik Abdul-Wahab Hassan, said refusal to pay out zakkat is a “sign of weakness in faith”.
He, therefore, advised wealthy Muslims
to ensure prompt payment of Zakkat to avoid the wrath of Allah.
Zakat, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, is also paid in cash and on certain number of livestock.
It is obligatory for every Muslim who is financially buoyant to pay zakat to the needy to purify his wealth and seek blessings from Allah.
