THE other day, I was asked where the idea of Zakah came from. It was an interesting question, because the questioner was not satisfied with my answer.

“Qur’an and Hadith can be used to explain the application of Zakah,” he said, “not its origins and original context.”

I realised then that we can take our pillars of faith for granted. It’s like an old granite building weathered by the years. It has always been there, so we accept it being there. Like the building, the pillars are there when we learn about Deen, so we just accept them without demur.

This led to a search. I had to find an answer to the origins of Zakah. Eventually, I came across an academic paper by two Utah Valley University professors, Abdus Samad and Lowell Glen.

Entitled the ‘Development of Zakah and Zakah coverage in monotheistic faiths’, the paper gave an easily accessible perspective:

“Zakah, a contribution from the wealth of the rich to the poor is neither a new nor an unknown concept to mankind. It is a continuation of Celestial order which has been in existence since time immemorial. The virtue of the obligatory contribution from wealth was proclaimed and instructed by God thousands of years before the birth of Islam through his messengers – Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets (may peace rest on them).”

The Qur’an, as the authors noted, was full of testimony to this. For example, in 2:83 we hear specifically that Moses was told that his people had to be just to relatives, parents, orphans and the needy, that they had to speak with clemency, perform their prayers and that they had to pay their Zakah.  

From this, it is clear that charity and generosity to those less fortunate has always played an important role in prophetic faith, and human history.

We can track the social concept of Zakah – firstly defined as a cleansing process, and secondly, as growth and fertility – to the ancient civilisations. It can be traced back 5,000 years to Egypt where the fifth dynasty Pharaoh, Henku (2563-2422 BC) declared:

“I have given bread to all the hungry of the Mount Cerastus, I have clothed him who was naked...”

During the Homeric age (700 BC), the contribution of charity was an important element within Greek culture. The porter Eumaeus welcomed the wonderer Odysseus with these words:

“Stranger, I am not allowed to despise any guest, were he more wretched than you. Strangers and beggars come – all come from Zeus. I have little to offer, but I give it with a willing heart…”

In 600 BC, the Persian monarch, Cyrus the Great, became the first known constitutionalist. His empathy for the poor and downtrodden was recorded on clay tablets in the Akkadian language. Cyrus protected the ancient Jews, and we see the order to perform charity in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.

In those days, the economy was agriculturalist, with the result that there was great emphasis on the fruits of the land. According to the Old Testament, Jews were required to contribute a tenth of their crops and herds to charity [Leviticus 27:30-32]. At harvest time it was enjoined that:

“…a man must not harvest his field up to the edge of the field, or must not gather the gleanings of his harvest but leave something for the poor men and wanderers to glean…”

In fact, the author Joseph Schacht identifies the old Aramaic word “zakut” as meaning charity. The idea of an annual payment – the Prophet [SAW] used to disburse Zakah on the 1st of Muharram – can be found in the Jewish sources. In Deuteronomy [14:1], the injunction is:

“Every year you must take a tithe of what your fields produce from what you have sown and in the presence of Yahweh, your God, in the place where he chooses to give his name a home…”

The Gospels of Jesus are resplendent with references to charity. The feeding of the 5,000, for example, is loaded with allegorical meaning, as are many of Jesus’ recorded actions. Luke 11:41 declares:

“But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.”

It is quite evident, that as one scrolls through history, that charity had pre-conditions relating to excess wealth and the cleansing of wealth on an annual or cyclical basis. What the Prophet [SAW] brought to us via the Qur’an and his Sunnah was a divine convergence of historic social awareness.

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For more info: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227429389_Development_of_Zakah_and_Zakah_coverage_in_monotheistic_faiths/download

In recent years global water resources have come under strain due to climate change and changes in rainfall patterns. In South Africa drought has resulted in water shortages and an increase in the cost of water.

In keeping with its mission of changing lives through development and relief, SANZAF embarks on various water projects to make communities more self-reliant. Boreholes, we believe, can play an important role in harnessing untapped water resources in South Africa. Boreholes are an environmentally friendly method of accessing inactive water underneath the earth’s surface that would otherwise go unused.

This year SANZAF is embarking on four new borehole projects to benefit several communities around South Africa. The boreholes will be constructed in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal, Strand in the Western Cape, Kwanabuthle in the Eastern Cape and KwaThema in Gauteng. The boreholes are being constructed at Islamic centres and Masjids and will hopefully enable these centres to have permanent and reliable water sources InshaAllah. These boreholes will also save these centres the burden and expensive of municipal water.

The SANZAF Water Waqf was established in 2009 as a sustainable resource-base to support Water Security projects. The waqf forms a perpetual endowment, whose earnings are designated for Water projects in South Africa. The waqf system is traced back to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who encouraged Uthman (RA) to purchase a water well in Madina and offer it as a gift to the residents who were previously purchasing it. The water well would remain intact, and could not be sold, while the water itself would be given as Sadaqah (voluntary charity).

SANZAF offeres two water waqf programmes. The first is where a water well is dug almost immediately after the donation, typically R8,000 per water well (generally in Malawi). The second programme seeks to collect substantially more funds, up to R150,000, for the boring and establishment of a borehole in South Africa. In the latter case, unless a sufficient funds are donated at once, smaller amounts of donations are pooled until sufficient is collected.
Apart from forming a sustainable resource-base for community development, donations are a means of sadaqah jaariyah (perpetual charity) for the donor.

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‘Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.’
Helen Keller

The Masakhane Girls Secondary School is situated in Hazelmere, Verulam, and is home to 150 girls that reside on the school premises for the entirety of their high-school career. The holistic focus of the school is to provide not only the essential needs of the learners but also provide them with a well-balanced school education that uniquely embraces both secular and religious studies.

Many of the girls who attend the school come from impoverished circumstances and struggle to escape the cycle of poverty they were born into. Most learners come from single parent families, with little or no financial resources, many of the parents’ themselves have grown up in poverty and have little hope in their future. Some families are headed by grandparents many of whom are illiterate, aged and dependent on their monthly social grants to survive. Others are foster children, orphans and in some cases abandoned by their parents. To these students, Masakhane School is the ultimate vehicle of HOPE for their futures. In an amazing symbol of charity and despite overwhelming financial woes, the Masakhane Girls School persists and does not enforce the payment of school fees.

This in addition to the poor economic climate, securing ongoing funding to meet the ideals of this bold vision is always a challenge and the school is dependent on donations and philanthropy of well-meaning individuals and organisations such as SANZAF. The SANZAF Durban office which is resolutely driven by the organisations motto of ‘Changing Lives Through Development & Relief’ and the Willowton Oil Group through its many social responsibility and community upliftment initiatives have timeously stepped-in to provide tuition fees for 55 students varying from grade 10 to matric. The amount donated which totals R1.5 million will cover the cost of secular tuition, accommodation, three meals a day, transportation, stationery, text books, uniforms and separate Madressah costs for each of the 55 learners for this year.

Mr Husein Asmal, SANZAF General Manager Durban, indicated that, “this substantial investment is an investment into the lives of our futures leaders”. He added that this investment places a responsibility on everyone involved in the school to create an environment where these learners can thrive, progress and find their place in the community. “We want to be amazed by high quality results produced at this school, indeed a merit board filled with outstanding alumnae, going forward to do great things.”

We remain humble in the service to Almighty by serving mankind, as we urge you to help us to continue Giving Hope by supporting SANZAF Projects and Programmes such as these.
For more information call 031 309 6786 or email durban@sanzaf.org.za

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On 16 February 2019 the Port Elizabeth SANZAF office in conjunction with Kwantu Game Reserve provided 60 children an opportunity to enjoy a Safari experience at one of South Africa`s finest wildlife reserves Kwantu Game Reserve. The children were invited from Madressahs located in different residential areas within the Nelson Mandela Metro supported by the Port Elizabeth office. Namely the Al-imaad Madressah in Kwazakhele, the Jamat Khana Madressah based in Newbrighton, one Madressah from Motherwell and the Marikana Resource Centre. Other children were from The Youth of Ubuntu and the Universal Islamic Cultural Trust Madressahs respectively.

The visit commenced at ten o`clock in the morning and finished at two o`clock in which the children were served with refreshments on arrival, were taken for a game drive to view and learn about wildlife, enjoy the 5 star hospitality experience and visit the animal sanctuary. In the course of their visit they received a three course meal and had an opportunity to interact and take pictures of the animals.

SANZAF and Kwantu Game Reserve hosted this initiative in appreciation of Madressah children who excel in their studies and have shown commitment to their work through attendance to the Madressahs everyday of the week. This visit is one various other initiatives the SANZAF office in Port Elizabeth hosts for Madressah children to encourage and celebrate their excellence and commitment to their studies.

Call 041 457 1459 for more information

BUDGET 2019: COUNTING ON YOUTH INVESTMENT

An open letter to Finance Minister, Mr Tito Mboweni, on the eve of his budget speech

Dear Honourable Minister

SINCE 1994, the eve of democracy, we have become familiar with the Nguni term ‘ubuntu’. Brought into the national narrative by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the word essentially means that ‘we are who we are through others’. In other words, we are who we are through our humanity.

Indeed, ubuntu expresses the very notion of socialisation after three hundred years of colonialism, and four decades of apartheid. It means that as a diverse society, we are part of a cohesive whole. It means that if one part hurts, the other part should hurt too.

Ubuntu, then, represents a world view that does not look at the colour, creed or class of a person. The president’s call, via the song of the late Hugh Masekela, ‘thumma mina’ (send me) has to be understood in the spirit of ubuntu, which is selflessness and sacrifice. It is this that empowers and enriches the human spirit.

We write to you as the South African National Zakah Fund (SANZAF), a Muslim NPO that has been serving the community for 45 years. The focus of SANZAF is to execute a pillar of faith called Zakah. Zakah is the ‘purifying’ of accumulated surplus wealth. In other words, those who qualify must give 2.5 per cent annually to the poor.

As a vehicle engaging with projects such as bursaries, skills training and relief, Zakah is a vital tool in eradicating poverty and positively empowering the unemployed and the underprivileged.

No, Mr Honourable Minister, we are not suggesting a wealth or Zakah tax! All South Africans, despite their financial challenges, are already generous beyond measure. A recent study by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has revealed that in 2018 a staggering 80 per cent of South Africans had donated money to some worthy cause.

What’s more, the study found that 50 per cent of South Africans would have donated more had they possessed the means. And even more encouragingly, the report revealed that the youth were more likely to volunteer, and held the role NPOs played in high esteem. The report can be accessed here: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/90-south-africans-charity-2018/

Mr Honourable Minister, we know that your budget is going to be a massive task in defining the country’s fiscus. We also know that you will be talking about investment. However, we would like to humbly suggest that you spend some of your time looking at human investment.

So often, we do not acknowledge the riches at our disposal, which is our human capital. Young people in South Africa, in particular, need to be recognised. Their ideas, their out-of-the-box dynamism and their energies must be harnessed.

Mr Honourable Minister, SANZAF started out in 1974 as a response to urgent welfare needs in the Muslim community, needs that the apartheid state had refused to meet. Pertinently, it was established by the Muslim Youth Movement. It was through youthful vision that SANZAF was formed.

In the 1970s SANZAF had to push its one and only vehicle to get it started, but last year it was able to distribute R133 million in bursaries, skills training, upliftment programmes and humanitarian relief from offices in every major centre of the country.

Again, our message is not about saying we are better than anybody. No. It is all about focusing on the nascent skills, the ambition, the dreams and the aspirations of all South Africans, especially the youth. So how exactly do we invest in human capital?

We have found that our bursary scheme – which disbursed nearly R28 million last year – is a starting point for transforming society, as are all other study schemes, if properly monitored. Indeed, it was Madiba who said in 2003 that education was the most powerful weapon we could use to change the world.

We have discovered that the socio-economic impact of a bursary is profound. When beneficiaries qualify, and contribute to the economy through their newly acquired skills, they immediately lift those around them out of poverty.

Mr Honourable Minister, our experience tells us that job-focused, skills-based education has the potential to transform society, and our economy, in a single generation. However, for it to be effective there have to be enabling conditions. The youthful entrepreneur, who is the future of South Africa, has to be able face the challenges.

In this light, we support the president’s focus in SONA on inclusive growth, incubation programmes, development nodes and technically empowering youth in township and rural areas. But government has to play its additional part via incentives, a prompt payment culture, accessible loans and less red-tape.

To quote John Dludlu of the Small Business Institute, we have to invest in human capital because we cannot afford hopelessness to become a national crisis. We simply cannot afford any more lost generations.

SANZAF Tree Waqf

Climate change patterns and the global financial crisis of the last decade have negatively impacted global food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) contends that as many as 204 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa are undernourished.
These adverse conditions leave many ordinary South Africans struggling to meet their basic needs. Inadequate food and poor nutrition in turn leads to stunted development, illness and the inability to work.

In keeping with its mission of changing lives through development and relief, SANZAF embarks on several projects to combat food insecurity. In the Gauteng region SANZAF currently supports two community-based farms. Smallholder farmers, we believe can play an important role in fighting hunger and creating opportunities for employment in South Africa. Smallholder and subsistence farms can increase food supply in communities, and consequently improve food security and nutrition.

This year SANZAF is embarking on a new project in partnership with the Winterveld Shurah. The Shurah is in the process of establishing a community orchard that will serve to create opportunities for employment as well as provide access to high-quality fresh produce. SANZAF will contribute 200 mature litchi trees in February 2019. Prior to the planting, the land will be prepared, an irrigation system installed and community members will be trained to manage and care for the trees.

The SANZAF Tree Waqf was established in 2009 as a sustainable resource-base to support Agriculture projects in the Gauteng region. The waqf forms a perpetual endowment, whose earnings are designated for agriculture in South Africa. The waqf system is traced back to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) who advised Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to pledge a portion of land that he had acquired as a waqf. The land would remain intact, and could not be sold, while its fruits would be given as sadaqah (voluntary charity).

Donations to the SANZAF Tree Waqf are invested into the Waqf Fund, and its returns are disbursed, on an annual basis, to agriculture projects. Apart from forming a sustainable resource-base for community development, donations are a means of sadaqah jaariyah (perpetual charity) for the donor.

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SANZAF Seedling Waqf

Climate change patterns and the global financial crisis of the last decade have negatively impacted global food security. A report by STATS SA suggests that that as many as 7.4 million people in South Africa experience hunger regularly.

Adverse weather conditions, coupled with high levels of unemployment leave many ordinary South Africans struggling to meet their basic needs. Inadequate food and poor nutrition in turn leads to stunted development, illness and the inability to work.

One way to combat food insecurity is to support local and subsistence farmers. SANZAF currently supports two community-based food gardens in the Gauteng region. Community food gardens, we believe can play an important role in fighting hunger and creating opportunities for employment in South Africa.

This year SANZAF is embarking on a new project in partnership with the Kwa Thema Community Centre. Having run their community food garden for several years, the community realised that there was often a shortage of affordable, high quality seedlings in the area. SANZAF is in the process of establishing a community seedling house that will serve to create opportunities for employment as well as provide access to high-quality seedlings to be used in the Kwa Thema Community Food Garden as well as sold to other local farmers. In addition, improved access to seedlings and other agricultural inputs will serve to enhance the resilience of local farmers and increase the availability of locally adapted crops. Apart from setting up the seedling house, SANZAF will facilitate the training of community members to manage and care for the seedlings.

The Kwa Thema Seedling House forms part of a larger project, the Kwa Thema Multi-purpose Community Centre that endeavors to provide educational, recreational, vocational and spiritual services to the community. The facility currently houses a recreational space for children, community hall, food garden, and mosque.

The SANZAF Seedling Waqf was established in 2009 as a sustainable resource-base to support Agriculture projects in the Gauteng region. The waqf forms a perpetual endowment, whose earnings are designated for agriculture in South Africa. The waqf system is traced back to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) who advised Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to pledge a portion of land that he had acquired as a waqf. The land would remain intact, and could not be sold, while its fruits would be given as sadaqah (voluntary charity).

Donations to the SANZAF Seedling Waqf are invested into the Waqf Fund, and its returns are disbursed, on an annual basis, to agriculture projects. Apart from forming a sustainable resource-base for community development, donations are a means of sadaqah jaariyah (perpetual charity) for the donor.

Contribute Here

Contribute Here

What’s Going On?

The current financial year ends on 28 February 2019, which means tax payers only have a month to ensure they get a tax benefit from making a donation to an approved non-profit organisation.

How Do I Get a Tax Benefit from Making a Donation?

SANZAF is registered as a Section 18A Public Benefit Organisation (PBO number 930001714). As a result of this registration, SANZAF is authorized by SARS to issue its donors with a Section 18A tax certificate/receipt upon request. This will allow the donor to claim their donations as a tax deduction. In this way, as a donor, you are able to assist SANZAF help those displaced from their businesses and homes and also obtain a tax benefit in doing so. 

How does it work?

Donors can obtain a tax deduction (limited to 10% of their taxable income in a fiscal year) in respect of the total donations made to approved organisations such as SANZAF. In order to do so the donation has to be supported by a receipt from SANZAF.

As an example, if a donor earns R100 000 taxable income per annum and during that year had donated R10 000 to a PBO then the donor qualifies for a tax deduction of R10 000 from their total taxable income. This means that in this example, the donor would not have to pay tax on R100 000 (total taxable income for the year) but rather R90 000 (R100 000 – donation of R10 000) for that year.

What Do I Do?

1. Make a contribution to one of our many projects or programmes which change lives locally.
2. Then claim a Section 18A certificate by emailing communications@sanzaf.org.za or ticking the Section 18A box on our online donation form.
3. One of our dedicated staff from the accounts department will be sure to send you your section 18A certificate.
4. This can be used when filing your tax return to claim your deduction as a tax benefit

Remember only contributions made to local causes and projects qualify as a tax deduction, any gratuitous cash or in kind donation made to SANZAF for the undertaking of qualifying public benefit activities within South Africa can be claimed as an income tax deduction by the donor.  Donations to an organisation that uses the money for a cause outside of Africa do not qualify for a Section 18A certificate. Your contribution must have been made in the current financial year to qualify as a deduction on upcoming tax return.

What Does This Mean?

Not only are you able to assist SANZAF to #GiveHope but also claim a tax benefit for your contributions!

Read More at http://www.sars.gov.za/ClientSegments/Businesses/TEO/Pages/default.aspx

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