Zakat funds girl child education in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Zakat is the practice among Muslims where they donate money for a social cause. The tradition, followed by Muslim devouts, has taken a new dimension in Jharkhand with more people funding poor children's education, especially the girls, in this holy month of Ramzan.
Besides practicing self-control and praying to the almighty, Muslims engage in various charitable activities during Ramzan.A part of the money donated here has always been distributed among the madrasas of the state.
"In the last six years, there had been manifold rise in donations to fund education," said Tanweer Ahmad, president of Friends of Weaker Society, a Ranchi-based NGO that collects contributions to sponsor talented but poor students of the state.
"Last year, we had collected Rs 4.5lakh for the purpose. Our society has supported more than 1,500 poor and needy students so far and we intend to continue the good work with the zakat collected this year too," Ahmad added.
The amount paid by an individual depends on his capital assets. Anwar Shah, a software engineer and a resident of Ranchi, said, "Earlier, the perception of zakat was limited to taking care of the basic needs of poor and the needy but now people have started realizing the significance of education, especially among females."
Shahid Akhtar, chairperson of Jharkhand minority commission, said: "It is good to see that more people here have started understanding the importance of education in community development. Around 4% of poor Muslims of the state study in madrasas that run on zakat. As a responsible Muslim, each of us should contribute for the noble cause. In Ranchi, Madrasa Hussainia and Madrasa Alia had been educating the underprivileged for years now, thanks to the contributions made by the responsible Islam followers of Jharkhand."
However, leading scholars of Imarat Shariah, a socio-religious organization based in Patna, have warned against fake institutions that collect alms for personal gains. "In certain cases, zakat ends up in the coffers of fictitious madrasas. People should exercise caution before doling out zakat. Sometimes, swindlers, claiming to be representatives of madrasa, dupe people. Thorough inquiries should be made about the institution before one gives money to them," Anwar Quasmi, a member of Imariat Shariah, said.
Asked about the steps taken by the organization to curb the menace, Quasmi said, "The Imarat Shariah gives a letter of approval to the genuine organizations and NGOs that collect alms for welfare purposes. People should ask those seeking zakat to furnish the approval letter or for that matter any document that substantiates their claim."