Role of Zakah and Waqf Foundation in The Alleviation of Poverty Among Muslims of Gombe State

Abstrak

Zakah and Waqf are twin Islamic economic tools set to address poverty and to boost standard of living. The institutions help in the circulation and distribution of funds among the poor and less privileged in every society. Zakkah and Waqf foundation in Gombe state have made a lots of tremendous effort toward alleviation of poverty in Gombe state. The paper aimed to describe the role which Zakah and Waqf foundation play in the empowerment of Muslims as well as job creation in order to reduce the problem of abject poverty in the state. As such, this research adopted historical and descriptive methods of data collection. This paper argues that as a tool of poverty alleviation and sustainable development in the Gombe State, Zakah and Waqf when utilized properly and incorporated into the contemporary economic structures can be an effective tool. The activities of these institutions are determined by effective investment in interest free ventures, professional financial control, transparency and community outreach. Enhancement of the operations of Zakah and Waqf Foundation will not only improve its ability to empower the poor, but will also rejuvenate the applicability of Islamic economic ideas to meet the modern socio-economic issues. The paper founded that Poverty is still a prevalent issue among most Muslims even though the Zakah and Waqf Foundation has been incorporated in Gombe State; it has not been able to effectively manage these institutions and lack of awareness on how these Islamic instruments can be used to generate economic benefits. Although Zakah and Waqf are community-oriented systems of wealth redistribution and social welfare which are required by Islam, their effectiveness has been impaired by lack of professionalism in their administration, sustainable investments, and linkage with state development initiatives. The desired objectives of poverty eradication, empowerment, and fair distribution of wealth are, therefore, not achieved in Gombe State completely. The paper recommends that the foundation should invest in a low-risk and interest-free businesses to address some of their challenges; investment analysts should be brought to run the institutions to ensure profitability.