Religious Affairs Minister Encourages Wealthy Muslims to Go Beyond the 2.5% Zakat Requirement

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Minister of Religious Affairs Professor KH Nasaruddin Umar emphasised the importance of optimising Islamic philanthropy during the 99 Islamic Economists’ Forum on 24 February 2026.

He encouraged Muslims, particularly the wealthy (Aghniya), not to be limited to fulfilling the minimum religious obligation in paying zakat, but to expand their contributions through instruments such as sadaqah, infaq, hibah, and waqf.

This was conveyed by the Head of the Bureau of Public Relations and Public Communication (HKP) of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Thobib Al Asyhar, in response to a viral excerpt of a statement about “leaving zakat”. According to Thobib, the video was cut and taken out of its full context.

If listened to in its entirety, he explained, the Minister’s statement was an invitation to Muslim communities with the ability to not only fulfil the minimum obligation of 2.5%, but to move towards broader generosity.

“If Muslims only focus on the 2.5% figure, then the very large economic potential of the community will not materialise. The Minister wants to emphasise that Muslim generosity must go far beyond that figure through sadaqah and infaq, which are not limited to a specific percentage,” said Thobib Al Asyhar in a statement in Jakarta, Thursday (26/2/2026).

According to the Minister’s explanation, he added, historically during the time of Prophet Muhammad and his companions, the spirit that was built was to give without limits (sadaqah), not just to fulfil annual obligations (zakat).