The Role of Zakat in Poverty Alleviation and Farmer Welfare; the Theoretical Review

Abstract

Zakat is a must to implement which has been proven to be an instrument for equal distribution of income to alleviate poverty and socio-economic disparities in society. This research aims to reveal the latest research regarding the role of zakat in poverty alleviation and prosperity. Then map previous research findings and gaps regarding the role of zakat in poverty alleviation and prosperity; and reveal the role of zakat in the welfare of farmers. This research uses a literature study paradigm. They used secondary data from 71 journals. The scientific journal search technique used the keywords "the role of Zakat in alleviating poverty and welfare of farmers" in the latest publication period between 2014 and 2024. Discussions regarding the role of zakat in alleviating poverty and welfare are generally carried out in Indonesia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tanzania, Brunei Darussalam, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Research intensity (number of journals) in the rice line shows an increase. The results of previous studies agree that zakat has quite important potential as a key instrument in distributing financial resources to be used by zakat recipients to get out of the poverty line. The results of the next analysis are research findings that specifically state that zakat has begun to shift to the agricultural sector. In particular, research regarding zakat for the welfare of farmers began to be carried out in 2016-2024. The focus of the analysis is distribution scenarios, driving factors for zakat payments, models for empowering zakat recipients, implementation barriers, and most recently the focus on implementing agricultural zakat for financial inclusion by strengthening institutions. Several predictors that are widely discussed by researchers and need to be studied further are the role of zakat on poverty and welfare through labor absorption to overcome unemployment and income inequality.