Before Zakat was made obligatory, the attention towards those in need was left to hearts who were willing to give. However when Zakat was commanded in the second Hijrah, this attention to assist was elevated to the status of obligatory in Islam.
After the passing of Rasullah (saw), the importance of Zakat was made clear by the first khalifah, Sayyidina Abu Bakr. He fought against certain Arabic tribes that differentiated between the prayer and Zakat and refused to pay Zakat.
The pinnacle of success of Zakat was achieved during the reign of the fifth khalifah, Sayyidina Umar bin Abdul Aziz. It is reported that he sent his Zakat officer to the northern part of Africa to disburse Zakat. However, what was reported was that no one in the region was in need of Zakat. The system of Zakat had proved its effectiveness.
(For the malay version, please refer to today’s Berita Harian, 13 Aug 2010)