Re-categorizing recipients of zakat under Riqab for sustainable development goals

• Main Authors: Ismail, Yusof, Awang, Abdul Bari, Mhd. Sarif, Suhaimi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah 2020
• Subjects: BPH Islamic Economics; BPH531 Zakat
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/80613/1/80613_Re-categorizing%20recipients%20of%20zakat.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/80613/; http://journal.zakatkedah.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Vol2_1_13_20.pdf

Re-categorizing recipients of zakat under riqab is essential to achieve sustainable development goals worldwide. Riqab or slavery is one of the standard categories of zakat expenditure sanctioned by Islam. Due to dynamic changes in the socio-economic and demographic, the existing categories of recipients of zakat under riqab become difficult if not impossible to identify people who may be entitled to zakat under riqab category. The existing categorization is based on traditional Fiqh literature may start as initial stage for recategorization. This study examined the views of selected Muslim respondents on the recategorization of zakat recipients under riqab category. By using nine statements with a Likert-like scale, and one open-ended question, the study was able to obtain an acceptable reliability (Cronbach reliability of 0.704). Data analysis using t-test shows that male and female respondents (n=70) did not differ significantly in their views, except for “freeing a prisoner of war” (p-value .002). The rating by the respondents on eligible riqab recipients ranked “freeing a person from an oppressive ruler” (4.09/5.00), and “freeing a prisoner of war” (4,03/5.00) among the top. The re-categorization of riqab recipients has a significant contribution of the research of zakat distribution which needs further deliberation of experts.