Over 19,000 people have paid Zakat-al-Fitr during the first eleven days of Ramadan.
Zakat al-Fitr is an obligatory charity taken from able Muslims for the poor. The charity must be paid before Eid.
According to the Islamic Ministry, MVR 878,646 has been collected thus far this Ramadan from 19,523 individuals. Out of these, 4,956 people paid to Zakat collection counters established at the Islamic Ministry, while 14,567 people made their payments online. Last year, MVR 899,031 was collected during the same period.
The ministry said Zakat can be paid from April 1 to 29. Payments can be made via SMS or online. The ministry said Zakat can be paid online through Dhiraagu's DhiraaguPay, Ooredoo m-Faisaa, Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB)'s FaisaMobile, Bank of Maldives (BML)'s portal, Finance Ministry's Bandeyri portal, and FahiPay application.
Those unfamiliar with online payment modes and senior citizens can pay Zakat at the Islamic Ministry's hall from April 3 until April 29. Payments will be collected between 10:00 am and 01:00 pm.
The amount for Zakat that has to be paid per individual is money worth 2.4 kg of the type of rice grain used by the person. This is approximately MVR 12 for those who use regular rice grains, MVR 77 for those who consume Thailand white rice grains, and MVR 77 for those who use regular Basmati Rice. While MVR 90 must be paid for high-quality Basmati Rice and MVR 132 for premium-grade Basmati Rice, red rice is equivalent to MVR 72. The rate for regular flour is equal to MVR 12 and MVR 75 for Atta flour.
