Based on Islamic history, there is evidence that Zakat is effective in eradicating poverty. Some scholars have claimed that during the period of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz poverty was completely eliminated through the payment of zakat. Al-Qardawi (1987) established that the goal of Umar AL-Khattab was to change the lifestyle of the poor i.e. from becoming a recipient of zakat to a giver of zakat. During the reign of Caliph Umar Abd Aziz it was demonstrated how the zakat fund could transform the lives of the poor and needy, whereby there was a surplus in the zakat fund as there were no eligible recipients to receive the fund. According to Mustofa al-Khin et.al 2005, Umar's action is in line with the beauty of zakat distribution which is to meet the basic needs of the poor and needy and also to remove them from poverty and destitution. Poverty is one of the critical problems facing many countries in this world nowadays. This problem is due to inequality in society which can be reduced by implementing zakat. It was supported by the study conducted by Kusuma and Sukmana (2010) which mentioned the importance of zakat in the socioeconomic framework of Islam and how it can be used to reduce inequality in society. Patmawati (2008) argues that Zakat distribution has the capacity to develop the economic well-being of Muslim society based on evidence from a series of empirical studies on Zakat. A more specific study on the impact of zakat on income distribution for the two categories of asnaf, the poor and needy in Malaysia was conducted by Patmawati (2006) whereby he found that zakat reduced income inequality and poverty. According to Hairunnizam and Radiah (2010), the...... middle of paper ...... is part of their social obligations towards the Muslim ummah and Islam since the payment of zakat is one of the five pillars of 'Islam. Secondly, they believe that, in part of their wealth, there are rights for the poor and needy as they believe that paying zakat could purify and sanctify their wealth and gain the blessing of Allah. swtHaji Abang Mohd Shibli (2005) suggested that the government should play a responsible role in managing the Baitulmal, improving the welfare of the poor in the society. However, the weakness of the system is still prevalent because the primary objective of zakat distribution, i.e. the restoration of rights to those who have not to ensure economic equality and justice, has not yet been achieved. Therefore, Azizan (2005) suggests that the poor must be motivated and encouraged to be independent and self-sufficient by fully utilizing the disbursement of zakat.