Zakat Al-Mal Al-Mustafad in Selangor: It’s Implementation and
Challenges
Syaharina Binti Abdullah
Senior Syariah Executive (Collection), Lembaga Zakat Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords: Zakat, income, hawl, al-Mal al-Mustafad, school of law.
Abstract: Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad refers to zakat on salary and income. It is considered as one of the contemporary
issues even though in Malaysia there are various fatwas on its obligation on Muslims has been issued in many
states. The related religious authorities under the Majlis Agama Islam Negeri (MAIN) has been adopting the
views of Imam Yusof al-Qaradawi in this view. In Selangor, Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad has become an
individual obligatory on Muslim in 2004. Despite this, there are still some issues and challenges that worth to
be discussed in regard to both in its implementation and challenges in this state. This research paper will
discuss all the related issues especially pertaining to the implementation whether it is still in line of syariah
perspectives or not. This is because hawl and nisab are the key arising issues in Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad’s
implementation in Selangor. These issues lead to the confusion for public in understanding the obligation on
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad. The methodology used is a library study where various primary and secondary
sources are analyzed critically to obtain real information on the issues discussed. The research finds that the
implementation of Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad in Selangor are still in line with the syariah understandings on
zakat, Islamic contemporary thoughts and fatwas. Selangor Fatwa Council as the highest authority in religious
matters in Selangor together with Lembaga Zakat Selangor have actively doing many researches on zakat
from time to time. The research also find that there are many continuous efforts has been done by the Lembaga
Zakat Selangor in its implementation such as salary deduction scheme, e-majikan and so on.
1 INTRODUCTION
Zakat is the third pillar from the five main pilars of
Islam and its payment has been ordained by Allah
S.W.T through His Messenger Prophet Muhammad
SAW with a view to achieve social harmony. It has
been made obligatory on Muslims when the
conditions stipulated are met to help the poor and the
needy. It was ordained in Madinah during the month
of Syawal in the second year of Hijrah. Islam has been
the first to lay down general principles for the
economic welfare of the common people in the
society (Mohammad et al., 2011).
Zakat is defined as “purification” or “growth” or
“blessing” and it is one of the important mechanism
for poverty eradication. There are two types of zakat,
zakat al-Fitrah which has to be given in the month of
Ramadhan before Eid prayers on every single
Muslim, and zakat on wealth. Regarding to the zakat
on wealth, there are specific types of zakatable assets
that have been listed down in the Quran and Hadith,
namely, livestocks, agricultural products, trade
goods, buried treasures (rikaz) and minerals, gold and
silver (Aidit Ghazali. 1998).
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad refers to the zakat on
salary and income which are now days in the form of
paper money. The jurists have expanded al-Mal al-
Mustafad by using an analogy to that mentioned in
the Quran and Hadis. It is an Islamic levy on personal
income derived from sources or activities where
labours are involved. It includes salaries, wages,
bonuses, labour compensation, gifts, professional
fees and so on (Nur Barizah, 2008). In Malaysia,
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad is not only different rulings
among states, but also different extent of its
enforcement and implementation.
This paper discusses on the implementation of
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad in Selangor whether it is
still in line of syariah and zakat general perspectives
or not. This is because zakatability of income has
been a long debatable issue especially related to hawl
and nisab. The methodology used is a library study
and using qualitative methodology where various
primary and secondary sources are analyzed critically
Abdullah, S.
Zakat Al-Mal Al-Mustafad in Selangor: It’s Implementation and Challenges.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Islamic Economics, Business, and Philanthropy (ICIEBP 2017) - Transfor ming Islamic Economy and Societies, pages 33-36
ISBN: 978-989-758-315-5
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
33

to obtain real information on the issues discussed.
This study is an exploratory one, data was collected
from various sources such as the Holy Book Al-
Quran, hadith of the Prophet Muhammad SAW,
journals, interview and annual reports from Lembaga
Zakat Selangor (LZS) and Majlis Agama Islam
Selangor (MAIS).It begins with the source of
regulation of the zakatability of al-Mal al-Mustafad,
and then provides a brief discussion on the debatable
syariah issues and justifications related to its current
practice in Selangor. Finally, it discusses the results
of the study.
2 THE ZAKAT SYSTEM IN
MALAYSIA
In Malaysia, all religious matters are under the
governance of each state in this country. Therefore,
the administration of zakat in this country is under the
respective Islamic Council of each state. Each state
has its own zakat institutions with different strategies
of administration and rulings (Aidit, 1988).
Selangor is one of the states in Peninsular
Malaysia ruled by a Sultan as the Religious Head of
State. One of the most interesting facts about
Selangor is it is the richest state in Malaysia with
diversified economic activities. In the state of
Selangor, Lembaga Zakat Selangor is an institution
that manages the collection and distribution of zakat
and play a significant role in the development of
Muslim citizens and residents. Since its inception 20
years ago, it has successfully managed very well for
both zakat collection and distribution.
3 OVERVIEW ON ZAKAT AL-
MAL AL-MUSTAFAD
As the third pillar of Islam, zakat is obligatory upon
all Muslims to give part of their wealth and assets
once it meets nisab (the minimum benchmark
assigned on annual basis or once harvested. The
beauty of zakat can be understood as it is not only to
purify one’s wealth but it is also a spiritual
purification which draw an individual closer to the
Creator, Allah S.W.T (Mohamed Ariff. 1991). First and
foremost, it teaches Muslims to free themselves from
the love of possessions and greed. There are five
conditions that need to be fulfilled before it is
compulsory for an individual to pay zakat on his
wealth, these conditions are ( Monzer Kahf, 1997) :
i. The payer is a Muslim
ii. A Freedom Man: The person whose wealth
meets the nisab but still does not fulfill his
basic need is not subject to pay zakat.
iii. Full Ownership : Every Muslim who has full
and legal ownership of enough assets is
required to pay zakat.
iv. Fulfilling the Nisab : Nisab is the minimum
amount liable to zakat. In term of the zakat on
income and salary, there is a connsensus
among Muslim Scholars that zakat will only
be imposed after the actual basic needs
expenses are deducted from the total annual
income.
v. Completion of Haul : Haul means the passage
of a year.
4 SYARIAH ISSUES AND
JUSTIFICATIONS RELATED
TO ZAKAT ON INCOME
As what has been mentioned earlier, the
implementation of zakat on income receives some
arguements from some Muslim Scholars in Malaysia
particularly on the issues related to hawl and nisab.
According to them, issues on hawl and nisab has been
identified as the key arising issues pertaining to the
obligation on Zakat al-Mal Al-Mustafad in Selangor.
This raises the following questions among the
Muslim community regarding the zakat on their
income which are nowadays in the form of paper
money. Can zakat on income be given on monthly
basis without completion of haul (one year)? Can
zakat on income be given on monthly basis without
meeting the nisab? Besides that, these related scholars
see the fact that zakat on income violates the
condition of the passage of the year (haul) which to
them, must be satisfied, the view that was held by Abu
Bakar (the first caliph) and Aishah – wife of the
Prophet SAW.
Generally, as what has been discussed earlier,
haul is a requirement in zakat, the consensus of those
who came after the companions (tabi’in) and the
jurists as it it based on the hadith (Al-Zuhaili ,2011).:
ُلْﻮَﳊا ِﻪْﻴَﻠَﻋ َلْﻮَُﳛ ﱠﱴَﺣ ٍلﺎَﻣ ِﰲ َةﺎَﻛَزَﻻ
(ﺮﻤﻋ ﻦﺑا ﻩاور)
Means : “No zakat is to be imposed on wealth
until the hawl has passed”
There is no disagreement among scholars whom
either the early generations or later ones that zakat on
capital assets such as business inventory, livestock,
ICIEBP 2017 - 1st International Conference on Islamic Economics, Business and Philanthropy
34

gold, silver and money, is required only once a year.
It does not apply to crops, fruits, honey, extracted
minerals and found treasure.
However, there are some variations among the
companions and followers on this haul condition. It
was reported that Ibn Mas’ud, Ibn ‘Abbas and
Mu‘awiyah to have taken the view that zakat is due
on assets when acquired, without needing the passage
of a year, if that earned asset fulfills the nisab on its
own or after being added to the assets that were
already owned before its accrual. In fact, this is also
the opinion of Imam Yusuf al-Qardawi (1999) where
he chose not to establish the requirement of the haul
on the zakat on income as what we have previously
discussed. This is because according to him the hadith
and athar related to the haul of the zakat is not at the
level of sahih or hasan. Therefore, it cannot be used
as an argument in establishing the requirement of
haul in zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad. The requirement of
haul is waived by some jurists and scholars as it can
be considered as in an advance payment of zakat. An
advance payment of zakat refers to a payment of zakat
before the completeness of a haul and it may take
place before or after the completion of nisab.
The advance payment of zakat is approved and
strongly based on hadiths such as the one narrated by
‘Ali where Ibnu Abbas has asked the Prophet
Muhammad SAW regarding advancing his zakat
before the completion of the haul, and the Prophet
Muhammad SAW has allowed him to perform it (al-
Qarafi, 1994). Besides that, there is Islamic legal
maxim which states that :
ﺰﺋﺎﺟ ﻪﺒﺒﺳ مﺪﻘﺗ اذا ﻪﻃﺮﺷ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻢﻜﳊا ﱘﺪﻘﺗ نا
Means: Preceding a law before its requirement
when its reason precedes, is permissible”
Furthermore, when the payer or the owner of
zakatable wealth is willing to forgot his right to the
obligation of the haul, it no longer becomes a
requirement in the payment of zakat and it is similar
to the case of debt which is paid earlier than the
originally promised sttlement date. Based on Islamic
history, the first one who collected zakat from salary
and income was Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan as it is
reported in al-Muwatta’ of Malik (al-Qardawi, 1999).
It is beyond imagination to assume that Islam may
impose zakat on a poor farmer who produces the
nisab and exempt the owner of a building that
produces many times the income of the farmer, or a
professional corporate like Senior Executive and
Chief Financial Officer, whose daily income may be
equal to that of the farmer for one full year. As
highlighted above, therefore these categories of
professional people cannot be excluded from the
payment of zakat.
These facts show us that the implementation of
zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad in Selangor are actually still
in line with the syariah understandings on zakat. This
is because some prominent Muslim scholars like
Professor Dr. Yusuf Al-Qardawi and many others
agreed on the obligation of zakat on income without
completing a haul, based on the athar sahabat and
tabi'in (Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Mas'ud,
Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, and Umar bin Abdul
Aziz):
ِﰲ" ِّﺮﻟا َﺟ ِﻞ َﻳ ْﺴ َﺘ ِﻔ ُﺪﻴ َﻣ ًﻻﺎ َﻗ َلﺎ ُـﻳ َﺰ ِّﻛ ِﻪﻴ ِﺣ َﲔ َﻳ ْﺴ َﺘ ِﻔ ُﺪﻴ"ﻩ
Which means: "A person who obtain al-Mal al-
Mustafad is obliged to pay zakat when obtained."
Furthermore, regarding the issue of the
implementation of zakat on income which does not
fulfilling the nisab for those who are their monthly
salaries and income are lower but generally the total
income for one whole year will fulfill the nisab, the
concept of ta'jīl (paid before the end of the haul
period) is the best way to pay zakat. This method is
very important to reduce the burden of payers at the
end of the year (end of haul) to pay zakat in large
amounts, and at the same time, ta'jīl can also prevent
them from running out not to pay zakat on income as
what has been regulated to them by Allah The All
Mighty and the enacted laws.
5 ZAKAT AL-MAL AL-
MUSTAFAD IN SELANGOR
Selangor can be considered as the most advanced
state in terms of its implementation and enforcement
where the Selangor state government has required all
Muslim employees of the statutory bodies, state
government bodies, agencies and subsidiary
companies serving at the state of Selangor to pay
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad to Lembaga Zakat
Selangor (LZS) through salary deduction scheme
known as “Skim Berkat” (Berkat Scheme)
(Suryani,2012).
This fatwa on the obligatory of zakat on income
earnings by Muslim individuals had been gazatted on
9 May 2002 under the Administration of Islamic Law
Enactment 1989, stating that zakat on income is
mandatory for Muslims who are living or working in
Selangor, and they must pay zakat on income to the
Lembaga Zakat Selangor. Indeed, zakat al-Mal al-
Mustafad in Selangor is not subject to haul
requirement. Therefore zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad
must be paid once received or earned. This is still in
line with the syariah jurisdiction contained in the
Fatwa Collection System of Selangor State Zakat
Zakat Al-Mal Al-Mustafad in Selangor: It’s Implementation and Challenges
35

2013 which based on the athar sahabat and tabi'in
(Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Mas'ud,
Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, and Umar bin Abdul
Aziz) that we have discussed before (Suryani,2012).
Regarding to the zakat on salary and income in the
state of Selangor, the categories of zakat al-Mal al-
Mustafad which is based on the Fatwa Sistem
Kutipan Zakat Negeri Selangor 2013 is divided into
four categories:
1. Zakat on Salary and Wages ( ﺐﺴﻛﻞﻤﻌﻟاﺐﺗاوﺮﻟاو
رﻮﺟﻷاو)
2. Zakat on Professional Income ( ﻦﮭﻤﻟاةﺮﺤﻟا )
3. Zakat on Income of Mustaghallat Property
(تﻼﻐﺘﺴﻤﻟا)
4. Zakah on Giving, Inheritance and so on which
is not based on salary (ﺔﯿﻄﻌﻟا)
There is a facility for the employers and
employees to view all the zakat payment that has been
made from time to time known as e-majikan. There is
also a scheme for salary deduction for all employees
and employers known as Skim Berkat which plays
major role in order to facilitate the payment for each
individual zakat payer. The amount of zakat will only
be imposed after deducting all basic expenses known
as Haddul Kifayah from the total annual gross
income. The balance, if it meets the nisab, will be
subjected to zakat of 2.5%. Then, it will be divided
for 12 months. This scheme was introduced as a
facility for all employers and government employees
as well as private employees to pay their obligations
on zakat in monthly installments basis through salary
deduction. This “Skim Berkat” impose zakat on
payers based on the concept of ta'jīl (paid before the
end of the haul period). This method is said to reduce
the burden of payers at the end of the year (end of
haul) to pay zakat in large amounts, and at the same
time, ta' jīl can also prevent them from running out not
to pay zakat on income as what has been regulated to
them by Allah The AlMighty and the enacted laws.
6 CONCLUSION
The implementation of Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad in
Selangor are still in line with the syariah
understandings on zakat, Islamic contemporary
thoughts and fatwas. Selangor Fatwa Council as the
highest authority in religious matters in Selangor
together with Lembaga Zakat Selangor have actively
doing many researches on zakat from time to time.
There are many continuous efforts has been done by
the Lembaga Zakat Selangor in spreading and
promoting the obligatory of Zakat al-Mal al-
Mustafad. It is hoped that the outcome of this
discussion will contribute to a better understanding of
Zakat al-Mal al-Mustafad and its implementation in
Selangor as it may eventually help the Ummah to
benefit from the noble system of zakat.
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