Towards A Unified Zakat System

The search for lawful wealth is regarded as and equatedwith acts of worship.When the prayer is ended, then disperse in the landand seek of God's bounty. (Qur'an, Chapter 62: 10)There are many Sayings of the Prophet, which encouragehuman beings to work and master their natural surroundingsfor their benefit (Chapra, 1971). In Islam, therefore,wellbeing is primarily a state of mind, and it can berealised with the minimum of wealth. Indeed Muslims, duringthe time of the Prophet, faced famine and hardship, butbecause of the distribution of whatever was available, andbecause the rich helped the poor, the wellbeing of thecommunity was achieved. Islam does, however, encouragepeople to produce as much wealth as possible providing itis done according to the accepted rules of fairness andhonesty.Islam also aims at relieving the people of hardship(Qur'an, Chapter 4: 28; Chapter 5: 6). Al-Ghazali (1937), thegreat theologian, contended that the aim of the Shariah wasto safeguard people's faith, life, intellect, posterity,and property. In a similar way, Ibn Al-Qayyim (1955)maintains that justice, mercy, welfare, and wisdom are themain tenets of the Shariah. Instead of concentratingexclusively on the material aspects of life, Islamic66