The Coronavirus Lockdown started in late March in the UK, as a result we have been restricted in so many ways.
Lockdown has had a profound impact not only on how we lived over the past few months but also how we spent on good causes.
“Muslims in the UK donated between £145M – £152M just in the month of Ramadhan 2020.”
Ramadhan this year was a scaled down affair but followers of Islam actually donated more to charity during the sacred month than previous years.
Ramadhan is a holy time in which 1.8 billion Muslims from every corner of the world fast between dawn and dusk. It is a month where charity is encouraged and the poor are provided with food and financial help.
We contacted over 25 Muslim charities including One Nation, Read Foundation, Ummah Welfare Trust and Al Khair Foundation and estimate that Muslims in the UK donated between £145M- £152M+ just in the month of Ramadhan, equating to a staggering £57 per second on average.
Muslims Donate The Most To Charity
Another poll found that Muslims in the UK give more money to charity as compared to members of other religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) emphasised the great rewards of giving in charity and feeding the poor. The Quran also encourages believers to donate to orphans and the less fortunate.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) lived in poverty himself and days would go by without food being prepared in his home.
A major pillar of Islam is Zakat which is to donate a set percentage (2.5%) of one’s accumulated wealth to charity. Muslims believe that paying Zakat purifies the donor’s wealth. It is the greatest method of wealth transfer from the rich to the poor in the world.
Umar Bin Abdul Aziz was one of the unparalleled Caliphs/Leaders of Islam, he is known to have implemented the system of Zakat so efficiently that there was a surplus of Zakat funds during his reign. This means that poverty was eradicated in the Islamic world at the time as there was no one eligible to receive charity.
In Islam, there is also huge reward for giving Sadaqah which is an optional charity. According to the Quran, the word Sadaqah means voluntary offering and paying it is believed to avert calamities.
Annual Zakat Collection Nearly £800 Billion
Muslims were more generous during this year’s COVID Ramadhan as they not only paid Zakat but gave abundant Sadaqah too.
In 2015 it was reported that the estimated annual Zakat pool was worth between £152 billion to about £763 billion. (World Bank)
We have obtained data from Stripe and Paypal, two online payment platforms who use algorithms to identify trends. Stripe primarily offers payment processing software and application programming interfaces for e-commerce websites and mobile applications.
Both companies have made it really simple for customers to pay and receive money online. We at GiveBrite have used Stripe in transactions that have totalled about £16 million.
Why The Surge?
The figures from our survey show that Muslims have donated to charity much more than normal. Islam promotes charity, especially during difficult times, which is why people have been so giving and generous.
Muhammad Khan & Ali Shaan
Keep doing good work and just pray for me and my family im in big trouble Allah help me out of this
In these horrible times, where many things are happening to the ummah that is very hard to fathom, as we aren’t shown or allowed to see the atrocities being commited. So giving charity would be the best way to help the ones we can, even if we don’t know how it is being used!