Motivation for Paying Income Zakat and Relations to Maqasid Shari'ah and Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Zakat is not only a religious obligation which must be complied by all eligible Muslims but also plays a very important role in Islamic fiscal system, specifically as a major source of income and could be used as an instrument to finance certain programs in order to achieve social, political and economic development among Muslim communities. However, the issue which arises is that zakat collection including income zakat is still low which hinders the effectiveness of zakat in playing a more significant role in the state of Kedah. Therefore, this study examines the motivations of paying cakat with a focus on the influence of attitude and Islamic religiosity on the intention and compliance behavior of income zakat in Kedah, Malaysia. This study reveals that attitude, and religiosity have significant relationships and positive influence on intention. When the Muslims have a strong belief about the impact of paying their income zakat such as being able to help all the zakat recipients, the belief has a strong impact on the attitude. The impact on others is linked to the Maqasid Shariah: preservation of religion, life, progeny, intellect and wealth.