Improving Livelihoods of Marginalised Young People Through Islamic Philanthropy
At Prince’s Trust International, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, earn and thrive in life no matter their background.
By working with delivery partners across the globe we help young people to develop the skills and confidence that they need to succeed. We work in 18 countries across Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East, focusing on tackling the global crisis of youth unemployment.
Since our incarnation in 2015, we have reached over 50,000 young people and have helped them to gain necessary training and skills to get into education and employability.
Meet Fatima, Enterprise Challenge Pakistan
At just fifteen, Fatima is already part of a prize-winning entrepreneurial team, and one which is focused entirely on empowering other entrepreneurs – especially women.
"It is my dream to be able to make women economically independent, so that they can make their own decisions."
In rural Pakistan, formal jobs are in short supply. Traditional gender norms – including childcare and household responsibilities – make it particularly difficult for women to go out to work, so many work from home, running micro-businesses focused on sewing, embroidery or cooking traditional food.
But in the mountainous Hunza region, where Fatima lives, mobility and transport difficulties make it hard for home-based producers to reach customers beyond their own village. This dramatically limits their income.
Read Fatima’s Story Here
Our Zakat Policy
YOUR ZAKAT:
The British Muslim community and the wider Muslim donors who wish to support Prince’s Trust International projects through Zakat or Sadaqah (voluntary charity) can confidently donate to Prince’s Trust International in line with clear Zakat guidelines.
Zakat is an obligatory annual charitable payment due from every Muslim who has excess wealth above the threshold (Nisab) as an act of worship. Muslims are expected to pay a fixed percentage of their wealth to take care of the needy around the world. Prince’s Trust International has produced its Zakat policy as a platform to drive confidence and encourage Muslim donors to support important projects while fulfilling their religious obligations.
CHARITABLE GIVING:
There are two types of charity which Muslims pay throughout the year.
The first is Sadaqah – an act of goodness that benefits those in need. Simple good deeds such as a smile, a helping hand or a voluntary financial gift, that can be performed at any time throughout the year and can be used for any project or programme which is of benefit to people and in line with the shariah guidlines.
The second type is Zakat, an obligatory annual payment due from every Muslim who has excess wealth above the threshold (Nisab) as an act of worship with clear guidelines. Muslims are expected to pay a fixed percentage of their wealth to take care of the needy and others according to the Quranic guidance.
WHAT IS ZAKAT:
The Arabic word ‘Zakat’ means ‘growth and increase’ or ‘to cleanse and purify’ and by fulfilling this religious duty, Muslims regard it as growing and increasing their reward, purifying their wealth and training oneself against miserliness by making a contribution towards the social welfare.
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a central component of a Muslim’s faith. Zakat is an obligatory payment upon every adult Muslim based on total wealth (including cash, gold, silver, shares, cryptocurrency, agricultural produce, livestock, pension, stocks and assets).
On a yearly basis, Zakat is paid by Muslims whose wealth reaches a certain threshold known as the Nisab for one lunar year (354 days).
Zakat amount is 2.5% of a Muslim’s total wealth. E.g. If the total assets equate to £10,000, the Zakat will equate to £250.
What is Nisab (the threshold):
Nisab is the minimum amount of excess wealth a Muslim must possess before he/she becomes eligible to pay Zakat. A nisab or above has to be in your account for one lunar year.
There are two Nisab values from which the threshold is determined.
Gold: the monetary value of 87.48 grams = £4084.44
Silver: the monetary value of 612.36 grams = £349.05
Nisab threshold tend to vary due to the fluctuation of gold and silver.
If the individual doesn’t reach the Nisab, then it is not obligatory for him/her to pay Zakat.
Zakat is paid to any of the categories mentioned in the Quran.
WHAT ARE THE CATEGORIES:
There are 8 categories of people that are entitled to receive Zakat. They are:
Allah The Almighty said in the Quran:
{Alms are meant only for the poor, the needy, those who administer them, those whose hearts need winning over, to free slaves and help those in debt, for travellers in need and for God’s cause. This is ordained by God; God is all knowing and wise}. (Quran:9:60).
- The poor
- The needy
- Zakat collectors / administrators
- Those whose hearts need winning over
- To free slaves
- Those in debt
- Travellers in need (including refugees)
- In the cause of God
WHEN SHOULD ZAKAT BE PAID:
Zakat must be paid on an annual basis. The Zakat anniversary is the date in which the individual first owned wealth above the Nisab threshold. If an individual is unsure, they can estimate it. In reality, most Muslims will generally pay Zakat during Ramadan as people are spiritually high and keen to make an impact, and it’s more rewarding.
WHY ARE PRINCE’S TRUST INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTING ZAKAT:
Prince’s Trust International currently operates in 18 countries including several projects being delivered within predominantly Muslim-majority countries (Jordan, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Nigeria). As a result, we have developed a fit for purpose Zakat Policy to maximise programmatic impact, whilst fulfilling and administering Zakat payments.
Our policy will provide the Zakat givers and donors confidence that their donations to Prince’s Trust International’s Zakat Fund will be used to support our vital work in several predominantly Muslim and Muslim-majority countries and communities, in accordance with the principles of Shariah.
All beneficiaries of Zakat-funded activities will be those in the greatest need, the most marginalised or vulnerable people, in accordance with our organisational values.
WHAT WAS THE SCOPE OF THE CONSULTATION PROCESS:
Prince’s Trust International are committed to making a long-term impact through Zakat and have therefore consulted leading scholars on Zakatable processes and have created a fit for purpose Zakat policy with a selection of relevant Zakatable projects, countries and implementation.
We also went through comprehensive research to understand Zakat, its criteria, eligibility, and processing of donations to maximise impact in line with Zakat guidelines.
HOW DO PRINCE’S TRUST INTERNATIONAL ADMINISTER ZAKAT FUNDS:
Prince’s Trust International take Zakat very seriously. All of our Zakatable projects have been carefully selected within Muslim or Muslim majority communities across the world.
- All Zakat payments made to Prince’s Trust International are allocated to a segregated general Zakat fund held by Prince’s Trust International. The Zakat funds are used to support Zakat-eligible projects in the Muslim-majority countries in which we operate.
- Prince’s Trust International’s selection of Zakatable projects are in: Jordan, Malaysia and India.
- Your Zakat will be used for causes to support Muslims, and will be used within one lunar year of giving the Zakat in accordance with Shariah rules.
- Zakat payments will be automatically allocated into a dedicated and restricted Zakat fund, where all donations will be held until being sent to the relevant countries for implementation of Zakat-eligible projects.
- Where we can uplift the amount given through recognised tax schemes (for example Gift Aid in the UK) we will treat any uplift as an unrestricted donation to support our work.
- A maximum of 12.5% of Zakat payments is allocated towards the administrative and support costs of Prince’s Trust International.
Prince’s Trust International will act as a Wakeel deputy to the Zakat givers, to deliver their Zakat to the Zakat beneficiaries.
WHICH PROGRAMMES WILL ZAKAT FUNDS BE USED FOR:
Prince’s Trust International’s established and dedicated projects through compliant partners will ensure Zakat goes towards:
Livelihoods:
- Team Malaysia – Working with the B40 and Orang Asli communities to upskill them to gain sustainable employment, through a 9 week personal development programme.
- Project Lehar – Working with disadvantaged young women to help them enhance their negotiations, communication skills and vocational skills, with grants to support the start of microenterprises.
Education:
- Enterprise Challenge Jordan – Upskilling young people on enterprise and creating future opportunities for employment.
REPORTING :
Transparency in respect of our compliance with Zakat principles is of foremost importance to Prince’s Trust International. Our reporting process in relation to Zakat will focus on several key areas:
- We will demonstrate how our programme activities have been selected and remain in line with beneficiary and activity guidelines for Zakat compliance.
- We will provide further comprehensive evaluation including the provision of visual reporting to the extent possible.
- We will report on the matters above in our annual financial report and by setting out the work we undertake on our website.
FATWA :
The Fatwa is an Islamic opinion and declaration. Prince’s Trust International has received a Fatwa from Shaykh Haytham Tamim that this Zakat policy and its planned practices in relation to Zakat are Shariah compliant.