Looking at current global reports, it seems that half of the world's population is suffering economically and socially. According to the most recent estimates, in 2013, 10.7 per cent of the world's population (767 million people) lived on less than US$1.90 a day (World Bank|Poverty Overview 2018). Moreover, millions of people lack adequate shelter and access to portable water, health services and education and suffer from extreme hunger (Shah 2013). Muslim countries are not exceptional, even though many anti-poverty programmes have been implemented, yet the Islamic Development Bank reported that 351.2 million people are living on less than $1.25 a day (SESRIC - Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries 2015). Highlighting these upsetting statistics reveals the need to explore alternative ways to address some of the current global issues through the study of the role of the institution of waqf and the potentials of fintech.
Mezbah Uddin Ahmed; Noor Suhaida Kasri (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)
Ensuring socio-economic justice, eradication of poverty and equitable distribution of wealth are among the primary objectives of Islam. Even so, a significant number of Muslims around the world are deprived of their basic needs. The scenario only worsens in times of financial and political turbulence. There is a desperate need to find sources of funding to rescue people from their miseries and offer sustainable solutions. Zakat has great potential to meet the funding needs. This chapter argues that zakat contributions will be amplified if corporate entities pay zakat as legal persons or on behalf of their Muslim shareholders. This chapter proposes development of a zakat calculation software to facilitate corporate entities and Islamic financial institutions calculating their zakat obligations reliably. Development of such software requires Islamic finance research entities to team up with information technology experts. Prominent Shariah scholars will play the essential role of validating and endorsing the Shariah compliance of the software.
