Abdullah al Muheiry, the secretary general of the Zakat Fund, says wealthy Muslims are still not paying enough.
Abdullah al Muheiry, the secretary general of the Zakat Fund, says wealthy Muslims are still not paying enough.
Abdullah al Muheiry, the secretary general of the Zakat Fund, says wealthy Muslims are still not paying enough.
Abdullah al Muheiry, the secretary general of the Zakat Fund, says wealthy Muslims are still not paying enough.

Zakat alms contributions double to Dh8.6 million


Haneen Dajani
  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // Islamic alms contributions paid through the Government have almost doubled in the first few months of the year, the Zakat Fund revealed yesterday. Revenues from individuals rose by 93 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, to Dh8.6 million, and the number of contributors rose by almost 40 per cent. Zakat is the Islamic alms tax mandated for every financially able Muslim and its provision is the third pillar of Islam. The Zakat Fund is a government authority created in 2003 by Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, to receive and distribute Zakat contributions and to raise awareness of the Islamic tradition. Contributions usually spike in the holy month of Ramadan. The agency's total revenues in 2009 were Dh67 million.

Abdullah al Muheiry, the fund's secretary general, said the rise in revenues was the result of increased transparency about its budget and activities. "We adopt a policy of transparency between us and the Zakat provider, who should know where his money is going," he said. Despite the increase in revenue, Mr al Muheiry said he believed that wealthy Muslims were still not paying enough. "The increase does not match the amount of money being invested in the country and the continuous rise in the number of millionaires in the UAE, who now number in the tens of thousands," he said.

Abdullah al Araby, the imam of Dubai's Airport Mosque, said work still needed to be done to increase trust and adherence to Zakat. "People need to know that there is a Zakat Fund and that they can trust it," he said. While the fund had the name of an obligatory Islamic duty, most people viewed it as a charity organisation, he said. "My understanding is that it's a charity organisation that I can just give Dh1,000 or Dh2,000 to," he said. "The Zakat collector does not come to your house like in the past to find out how much you own, calculate the Zakat and then take it from you."

The basic annual Zakat rate is 2.5 per cent on financial assets, with varying rates for other assets, such as gold or livestock. Richer people were less amenable to paying Zakat since they had to pay larger sums of money than ordinary people, Mr al Araby said. "If you have 40 million, then you're going to have to pay one million from that." In addition, Zakat carried few immediate benefits for giving up money, whereas other Islamic obligations, such as Ramadan fasting, had an enjoyable social element to it and the Haj pilgrimage involved travel and tourism.

This meant, unfortunately, that less attention was being paid to Zakat as a duty, he said. "If every member of society pays the Zakat you would not find one needy person in this country,"Mr al Araby said. A recent survey by YouGov Siraj found that almost one third of UAE respondents mistrust charities because they lack accountability. Ahmed al Muhairi, a middle-aged Emirati, said he preferred to give his Zakat money to direct sources rather than to the Zakat Fund or the Red Crescent Authority.

"Sometimes I give to the fund or Waqf [an Islamic trust fund], but I don't really trust them," he said. He said he gave his money to a trusted man who is very religious and distributed it in Kalba, Fujairah and rural areas in the Emirates. "Zakat Fund will complain about a lack of budget no matter how much money they get. So does the Marriage Fund, they receive a lot of money from the Government and their budget is huge but they still complain," said Mr al Muhairi.

Shadia abu el Farraj, a 52-year-old Syrian housewife and charity worker, said she gave her Zakat money to various sources inside and outside the UAE, but she never thought of giving it to the Zakat Fund. "Spending the Zakat money should be done officially through the state, as they can see where the poor people are and then build projects that will help decrease poverty, but when states grew and communities scattered around the place, people became afraid that the money would not reach the right people, so people started giving out the Zakat on their own." She said it became traditional for certain trusted people to collect Zakat money and take on the responsibility of distributing it.

"I personally give my Zakat money inside the UAE to low income families that I know, or widows who have many children and can't afford to enrol them in school for example." @Email:kshaheen@thenational.ae hdajani@thenational.ae

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

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Engine 3.6-litre V6

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The specs
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

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Australia

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Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

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Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

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War and the virus
The lowdown

Badla

Rating: 2.5/5

Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment 

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

While you're here
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

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Price: From Dh1,700,000

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

While you're here

Michael Young: Where is Lebanon headed?

Kareem Shaheen: I owe everything to Beirut

Raghida Dergham: We have to bounce back

Sam Smith

Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi

When: Saturday November 24

Rating: 4/5

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up

Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm

On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm

The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm

The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm

Romang, June 28 at 6pm

Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm

Underdog, June 29 at 2pm

Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm

A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm 

 

Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
​​​​​​​two stars

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

Results

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5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Al Nafece, Al Muatasm Al Balushi, Mohammed Ramadan

6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adrie de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel

6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Ottoman, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Liwa Oasis – Group 2 (PA) 300,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeemat Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ganbaru, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

The bio

Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist

Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi

Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup

Hobbies: Reading and drawing

Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

Tips to keep your car cool
  • Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
  • Park in shaded or covered areas
  • Add tint to windows
  • Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
  • Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
  • Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat