Businessmen's comment on the role of zakat in fighting poverty view: The example of MÜSİAD

Zakat is one of the five basic principles of Islam, a financial worship commanded by Allah to religiously rich Muslims, considered among the requirements of virtuous servitude, revealing the servant's devotion to his Lord, and whose conditions and framework are determined by the Quran and Sunnah. In its most general sense, zakat refers to the property that a Muslim whose wealth has reached the nisab amount is obliged to give to designated people due to the material wealth he owns. Zakat is an institution that guides economic life, helps prevent poverty, balance income and expenses, and eliminate inequality. Thanks to zakat, very successful steps can be taken to solve the problem of poverty, which is the biggest problem in society. Zakat is a form of worship that takes from the rich and gives to those in need and tries to maintain economic balance. It is emphasized in the Holy Quran and Sunnah that it will purify one's soul and increase one's wealth. Therefore, this issue is important for the well-being of the individual and society. This worship needs to be understood very well because it plays a major role in solving socio-economic problems. In the light of all this, the aim of the study is to conduct in-depth research on zakat worship and to gain knowledge about its role in preventing poverty. The belief that zakat, which is among the basic conditions of Islam, should be reconsidered in terms of its correct understanding and correct implementation, has led us to this study. Although it is a very important institution in terms of social assistance and solidarity, it does not receive the necessary importance today. A better understanding of the practice of zakat by people will lead people to give zakat and take positive steps towards cooperation and solidarity. The subject of our study is to examine the problem of poverty and discuss the role of zakat institution in preventing poverty. In addition, the views of the members of important businessmen's associations in Turkey, such as MÜSİAD, on the possibilities and opportunities of the zakat institution's contribution to the fight against poverty were analyzed. The working group of the research is MÜSİAD members. The interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The study is designed to serve its purpose by enriching the importance of zakat, which we can frame with its outlines, its history, the goods to be given zakat, the conditions for zakat to be obligatory, the contribution of zakat to employment and production, and the findings from the interviews held with MÜSİAD members. During the interviews conducted within the scope of the study, it was concluded that MÜSİAD members have a very high zakat potential in Turkey, zakat plays a great role in the fight against poverty and if this worship is fulfilled, it will solve the poverty problem to a large extent.