Doctor using ‘Zakat’ money to treat patients from all communities

As per Sharia, zakat can be used only for the Muslim community and hence the doctor took permission from the head of a local mosque to use the money to buy medicines for all the communities.

Mumbai: Nandu Yadav, a BMC contract employee has been visiting Dr Aqeel Khan’s clinic in Bandra for the past four months as his family gets treated there at a nominal cost. Yadav, 45, is among the 150-odd people who benefits from the clinic daily.

The doctor and his wife, who is also a doctor, now provide medicines for common ailments for ₹25 to underprivileged families from different communities. (HT PHOTO)

Dr Aqeel Khan, a pathologist from Bandra, has been using Zakat money contributed by members of the Muslim community to treat the poor and the needy regardless of the religion of the patient.

As per Sharia, zakat can be used only for the Muslim community and hence Dr Khan took permission from the head of a local mosque to use the money to buy medicines for all the communities.

“Zakat amount is purely for helping the underprivileged Muslims. However, by using the ‘Ela Shari’ principle wherein a person or organisation helping the needy is made the owner of the Zakat amount, it can then be utilised for helping people from other communities as well,” said Maulana Tohid Akhtar, pesh Imam, Bandra mosque.

As some members of the community tried to take zakat money fradulently, Dr Khan thought of disbursing medicines to the needy, irrespective of their religion.

The doctor and his wife, who is also a doctor, now provide medicines for common ailments for ₹25 to underprivileged families from different communities. The small clinic at SV Road, Bandra, treats and gives medicines to nearly 150-170 patients a day and also offers various medical tests at discounted rates.

Taking out Zakat from one’s income and savings is one of the pillars of Islam and is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria for wealth. A Muslim has to keep aside 2.5% of his annual savings and income as Zakat. The amount is meant to help the needy persons from the community and is a mandatory charitable contribution, often considered to be a tax, as per Sharia.

How did it start?

Dr Khan, who has been running a pathology lab at S V Road for more than 15 years, received a sum of ₹9 lakh Zakat amount from his acquaintances in the United Kingdom (UK) last year. He was told that as there were not many eligible people to receive the amount in that country, the amount should be disbursed to the needy Muslims in India.

When word of Dr Khan wanting to disburse a Zakat amount had spread, many needy persons approached him and after the initial verification, he gave them the amount. During this period, a couple approached him seeking a huge amount for their 14-year-old daughter’s cancer treatment. After going through the hospital and medicine bills, Dr Khan gave a substantial amount of the Zakat money to the couple.

After a couple of days, Dr Khan inquired about the couple and was stunned to know that the couple was well endowed as they owned two flats in the buildings in Bandra. The man also had a business from which he made a decent income, hence the couple was not eligible to get the benefit of the Zakat amount.

On learning about the fraud, he felt guilty about misusing the religious fund intended to help the needy and hence consulted Maulana Tohid Akhtar, the pesh Imam (head of congregation) of the Sunni Mosque outside Bandra station and discussed his dilemma.

The doctor also sought to know whether the remaining amount of Zakat with him could be used to buy medicines for the needy so that only the destitute would benefit. Maulana Akhtar permitted him after which Dr Khan and his wife Dr Nasreen Khan started offering medicines at ₹25 at the clinic next to the Badi Masjid at S V Road.

“I hit on the idea of buying and disbursing medicines among the poor after the fraud was played on me. Maulana Akhtar guided me on how the Zakat amount could be utilised for fulfilling the religious obligations of the givers,” said Dr Khan.

He added that he is relieved of not violating any religious norms by accepting the amount through an NGO which works for the upliftment of the needy, regardless of which religion they belong to.

According to patients, the medicines are very effective and economical hence they prefer to visit the clinic rather than consulting other doctors who charge at least ₹300 per consultancy. The patients are usually people who earn less than ₹15,000 a month and some of them who have moved away still prefer to visit the clinic whenever they are unwell and need medication.

“We were living at J J Nagar and used to visit the clinic for cheap medicines. However, after shifting to Kurla last month we realised that consultancy charges of doctors were very high,” said Shaukat Shaikh, a timely visitor of Dr Khan.

“I do odd jobs and do not have a fixed income, hence whenever someone falls ill in the family we come to this clinic. We are thankful to the doctor for providing medicines at affordable rates. A few days back I had to get some medical tests done, the doctor wrote me a prescription which I showed at the pathology lab and they did it free for me.”