Press Release
The Activity of the Houthi’s Zakat Authority is Contrary to the Economic System in Islam
(Translated)

On Monday, 15/6/2020, Al-Thawra Newspaper, issued in Yemen, conducted an interview with the representative of the Zakat Authority, Ali Ahmad Al-Saqqaf, which was the Zakat Authority established by the order of Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi. In the interview he mentioned the achievements of the authority; that it spent 60 billion riyals during the past two years and spent 4-5 billion riyals of Zakat Fitr on 245 thousand families during the month of Ramadan, also the cost of other Zakat expenditure was more than 14 billion...

Here we take a brief pause to show the people of Yemen that the activity of this body is in violation with the rules of Islam:

The amount that was distributed does not pay the amount, 15,000 riyals, to the beneficiaries!! The registration of Zakat beneficiaries is subject to mediation and bargaining because those in charge of it in the neighborhoods, the Iqal Al-Harat, people know that many of them are irresponsible.

The authority created assets from the Zakat funds, when what was left (of Zakat) did not suffice the poor and the needy, and this is contrary to Islam. The basic principle is that the money received by the Zakat Department is distributed in order to fulfill the needs of all the poor and needy before others.

[إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ]

“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” [At-Tawba: 60].

And you (the Zakat Authority) spent an item (for the sake of Allah) fighting Muslims! You did not observe the quorum (nisab) in collecting Zakat. You exceeded the Zakat of trade and merchandise, you included what must not be included in it, such as buildings, machines and decorations. As for the crops and fruits, they are not less than five Ausuq 300 “saa” = 653 kilograms of seeds for Zakat, and you made the distinction between the cattle that are “grazing animals” and those fed in the houses, from sheep, cows, and camels only. The Zakat on money, is 20 dinars in gold, 24 carat, which is 85 grams of 24 that a year passed on (Al-Hawl) of its possession.

The Zakat Authority has repeated the model of the Al-Islah Charitable Association, which did not eradicate poverty but rather expanded it and increased the number of poor people; who are waiting for what it provides of crumbs year by year, even though the association was in possession of large sums of money. The Zakat Authority will see in numbers, in the coming years, the result and the increase, spread and expansion of poverty, instead of eliminating it.

The basic principle is that there is a treasury (Bait ul Mal) for Muslims that has several departments (divan); including the department of Zakat within the economic system, in addition to the system of government, social system, foreign policy and other systems of life in Islam in life, so how can anyone settle for establishing a distorted part of the economic system in Islam?! Allah (swt) says:

[أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ]

“So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?” [Al-Baqara: 85].

This was presented as the economic system in Islam in its entirety, in light of the absence of the core of the economic system, and the rest of the systems of life of Islam, and replacing them with other capitalist life-based systems of benefit, after separating religion from life! So how will these Houthi economic solutions bring benefit at a time when they are negotiating with the International Monetary Fund over the past two months of March / April to provide their economic solutions to them and continue to provide their loans to them?! Today, the Houthis' vile deeds are exposed, showing their inability and unwillingness to rule by Islam, just as the evil deeds of others were exposed before.

The implementation of Islam in all of life’s affairs is imperative and will only materialize in the second Khilafah Rashida (rightly guided Caliphate) state on the methodology of Prophethood, so let the people of Yemen work with Hizb ut Tahrir to establish it. The Prophet (saw) said: «ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ»“Then there will be Khilafah on the method of Prophethood”.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Yemen