The Art of Islamic Banking and Finance: Tools and Techniques for Community-Based Banking

is one of the best investments one can make, because its return is 700 times
the original investment:

2:261 the parable of those who spend their substance in the way of

God is that of a grain of corn: it grows seven ears, and each ear

Hath a hundred grains. God gives manifold increase to whom He

[God] pleases: And God cares for all and He knows all things.

That is, a $1,000 investment with God in the form of spending to the
poor and needy, as described above, is promised to yield 700 times the in-
vestment, or $700,000 in this life and more in the hereafter.
This money is used to primarily fulfill the needs of the poor and the
needy. The Qur’aan reveals:

2:273 [Charity is] for those in need, who, in God’s cause are re-

stricted [from travel], and cannot move about in the land, seeking

[For trade or work]: the ignorant man thinks, because of their mod-

esty, that they are free from want. You shall know them by their

[Unfailing] mark: They beg not importunately from the entire sun-

dry. And whatever of good ye give, be assured God knows it well.

To further institutionalize the ritual of giving, the Qur’aan has defined
eight categories that should benefit from the collectedzakah. The Qur’aan
defines these categories, as revealed in Chapter 9 (Surah Taubah—Repentance),
verse 60.

1.The poor:

They are defined as those who cannot afford to feed or clothe them-

selves and their families. The purpose of paying the zakah is two-

fold. First is the short-term goal of feeding and clothing the poor.

The other purpose, which is a long-term goal, is to teach the poor

professions that can help them become employed. An example is to

teach a poor person how to drive a taxi so that he or she can qualify

as a taxi driver. Working as a driver will allow him or her to earn a

halal income, and move him/her from being poor and at the bottom

of the social ladder to a step higher up: becoming a needy.

2.The needy:

They are defined as those who have a job and receive income, but that

income is not sufficient to meet all their needs. An example is a low-

income taxi driver, who does not own the taxi but leases it from

36 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE