Dear Muslims!

We are obligated to perform the worships that our Lord requires from us within the conditions that He stipulated. We learn the conditions of the worships from Qur’an and the implementations of the prophets that Allah sent from amongst his servants. Our Lord, clarifying that zakah (obligatory donation) is fardh and also how it should be collected, who it should be given to and how it should be distributed commanded in the Qur’an: “Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [ Allah’s blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.”[1]

Again similarly, Allah commands in another verse: “Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.”[2]

Dear brothers and sisters!

In line with the commandment in the verse above our Prophet (SAW) assumed the responsibility of collecting the zakah himself and he assigned zakah officers. Our Prophet established a special fund where all the zakah money are collected and assigned special officers to run the fund. This arrangement continued until the death of the Prophet. One of the conflicts during the term of the first caliph of Abu Bakr (r.a.) was the delivery of the zakah monies to the zakah fund.

Abu Bakr (r.a) never gave up on demanding the zakah money on behalf of the state from Muslims who were reluctant to give it and he never compromised in this regard.

This implementation continued this way for ages. As there is no state organisation to carry out this duty at this day and age, islamic organisations are doing this duty. The fact that the worship of zakah is obligatory and the wisdom of Qur’anic commandments require us to do it this way. According to this, all the zakah monies should be given to organisations established by muslims. Zakah organisations are to distribute the donations to the required people or places through their assigned officers.  Therefore, today’s zakah organisations are institutions established by muslims and are obligated to distribute the zakah in accordance with wisdoms in the Qur’an.

Honourable brothers and sisters!

That is why on behalf of muslims living in Europe, Australia and other continents Islamic Community Milli Gorus has been established to assume and carry out religious duties on their behalf and this organisation also established a zakah fund. Through this fund our zakah and fitr monies are being distributed to the 8 categories of people listed in verse 60 of the surah Tawbah.  Therefore, when muslims give their zakah and fitrah monies to the zakah fund of our association and through this fund zakah monies finding their rightful recipients means that a Quranic commandment is revived and this worship is being done in accordance with the wisdom behind it. We highly encourage our brothers and sisters to perform this religious duty by donating their zakah and fitrah monies to the zakah fund of the Islamic Community Milli Gorus.  Our zakah monies will be spent for the needs of the genuinely poor people and also it will be our most important relief organization in the way of establishing institutions that will look after young muslim generations living in the Western countries.

Let us conclude our khutbah with a hadith. Our Prophet (SAW) commands: “Protect your belongings by giving zakah, heal your ill people and illnesses by giving sadakah and protect yourselves against future calamities by making dua.”[3]

[1] Surah Tawba, 9:103
[2] Surah Tawba, 9:60
[3] Taberânî, el-Mu’jemu’l Kabir, 8/464, H. No: 10044 (Mektebetu Shamile)

Khutba-Giving Zakat through Institutions