Record amount received as Zakat-al-Mal this year

The Islamic Ministry has said a record amount was paid as Zakat-al-Mal this year.

Zakat-al-Mal is a religious obligation for all Muslims who meet the necessary wealth criteria and is a mandatory charitable contribution. Each year, the Islamic Ministry decides on a Nisab, the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to give Zakat.

Islamic Minister Dr. Ahmed Zahir Ali, Thursday said the state had collected MVR 85 million as Zakat-al-Mal thus far this year, making this year the year during which the largest amount was collected. The total amount for this year will become clear when the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) releases its statistics for 2021.

In November, MIRA received MVR 9.5 million as Zakat, a significantly higher amount than the MVR 3.8 million received during the same period last year. Between January and the end of November, MVR 79.3 million was received by the agency, while MVR 54 million was collected during the same period in 2020.

Zakat-al-Mal was previously paid to the Islamic Ministry. However, the collection agency was changed to MIRA in 2016.

The current Nisab for Zakat-al-Mal is MVR 6,961.50.