Imtiaz: manual of zakat interview panel

Unit Zakat, Sedekah dan Wakaf (UZSW) Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Johor is a unit that manages activities related to zakat, charity and waqf. Usually, zakat distribution fund will be given to the zakat recipients consisting of qualified UiTM students. The students can apply zakat through e- ZAKAT portal within the set date. Then, their application will be processed and interviewed by a zakat interview panel among the selected UiTM staff. However, even though the staff are from academic (lecturers) and administrative staff, most of them have less than five years of experience andsome of the chosen lecturers came from non-Islamic studies. This circumstance makes them uncertain what are the best questions that should be asked to the zakat applicant. This is because there is still no specific guideline and reference that can be applied by them related to the interview questions. Therefore, a manual named IMTIAZ-Manual Panel Temu Duga Zakat is created as a guideline to the zakat interview panel. It can assist the panel in addressing the best and relevant questions to the applicant. Besides, IMTIAZ can assist the panel to categorize the right asnaf based on the qualificationof the applicant whether they are poor (al-fuqara’), needy (al-masakeen), for the sake of Allah (fisabilillah), those inclined towards Islam (muallaf) or others accordingly. In addition, this manual encourages the panel to be more ethical and professional during the interview session. This is to guarantee that the interview process runs smoothly. The manual also can be applied by UiTMbranches, public universities, public and private institutions that manage zakat as well as reference to zakat administrator such as Majlis Agama Islam Negeri (MAIN).