DISTRIBUTION OF ZAKAT AS A SOLUTION OF PROVERTY ALLEVIATION IN LANGSA CITY

The focus of this research was the implementation of distribution of zakat as a solution of poverty alleviation in Langsa City. The problem in this research was, first, how was the concept of distribution in the Islamic Economic System? Second, how was the implementation of distribution of zakat in the Islamic Economic System in alleviating poverty? The purpose of this research was to describe the concept of distribution in the Islamic Economic System, and to analyze the implementation of distribution of zakat in the Islamic Economic System in alleviating poverty. The type of this research was a qualitative research by using descriptive analysis. It was a field research. The objects of this research were the poor people in Langsa City and the Baitul Mal Langsa. Based on the results and the analysis of discussion, it can be concluded that zakat had been distributed evenly. Therefore, zakat in Langsa City should be distributed with a larger budget and a wider scope, so that the benefits desired by Islam can be achieved and Langsa becomes one of the cities of baldatun thayyibatun wa rabbun ghafur in this beloved country of Indonesia.


THE INTRODUCTION
Province of Aceh is a province which has received a special autonomy and has a strong Islamic view. However, the poverty rate in Aceh is very high. It can be seen from the table which shows that Aceh is still in the sixth position as a province with a high poverty rate. The problem is that a number of areas that are still facing the problem of high poverty actually occur in areas with abundant natural resources.
Various efforts to reduce poverty have been carried out by the central and regional governments, including the Langsa City government through various policies. However, these efforts still have not been able to provide maximum results in eliminating poverty as a whole in Langsa City. Based on BPS data from Langsa City, the population of Langsa City as of 2019 is 168,820 people, with a recorded poverty rate. Although there was a decrease from the previous year, it is recognized that the poverty rate is still very high, so there is a need for an optimal distribution of zakat and income.
Zakat is one of the instruments in Islamic economics that aims to overcome the problem of welfare inequality in society by empowering the poor. Assets generated from prosperous community groups are used for economic empowerment of vulnerable groups hence they are able to grow and improve their welfare. (Furqani et al., 2018) The experience of Indonesia's economic development often raises social problems in society, including the gap between the rich who are getting richer and the poor who are getting poorer. This gap is the result of not creating a fair distribution in society. The "socialistic" Indonesian economy until 1966 turned into "capitalistic" along with the end of the old order (1959)(1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966). (Noor, 2011) Implementation of zakat productive which has been applied in various regions and provinces in Indonesia has shown some positive results. For instance in North Aceh district, the total amount of zakat productive that been distributed torecipients is Rp. 885 million, with the number of recipients as many as 533 people, and the results showed that after receiving zakat productive, the total income of recipients is increased by 19% than before (Hamidi et al., 2019) However, The management of zakat by Baitul Mal in Aceh is different from the provisions of the Law on Zakat which hand over the management of zakat to the community. Thus special autonomy regarding the regulation of zakat as local revenue and its management by Baitul Mal.
The problem of disparity (inequality) in income distribution that can be solved by distributing zakat is a condition of unequal distribution of income and triggers income inequality which is the beginning of the emergence of the problem of poverty. Allowing these two problems to drag on will further exacerbate the situation and often lead to negative consequences for social and political conditions.
Problems that are always faced by every nation and have never been resolved, especially for developing countries, namely income inequality and poverty. One way to overcome the problem of income inequality and poverty is to collect zakat funds and distribute zakat funds on target.
Problems encountered by developing countries can be solved by distributing zakat. In addition to the level of disparity (inequality) income distribution, namely the level of poverty. Understanding poverty is a situation in which there are deficiencies that are commonly owned, such as food, clothing, shelter, drinking water and are closely related to the quality of life.
Poverty is also related to the lack of access to education and jobs that are able to overcome the problem of poverty and get a proper honor as a citizen.
This research discussed about the distribution of zakat to the state level.
Zakat has two functions, i.e. spiritual function and social function. Spiritual function is the responsibility or the obligation of a Muslim to his/her God who ordered zakat. Meanwhile, social function is the function of zakat in financing the social projects that can be continued in the state revenue and expenditure policy.
From the literature review above, the researchers did the exploration towards the implementation of distribution of zakat as a solution of poverty alleviation in Langsa City. There are some reasons why this research should be done. First, Langsa is one of the cities in Aceh that has special autonomy from the government and it should become a big chance for Langsa to reduce the poverty rate. Second, the distribution of zakat is not optimal in reducing poverty rate. Third, the poverty rate in Aceh, especially in Langsa, is still very high. Fourth, Langsa is a special area that implements Islamic Law where the largest source of state revenue comes from zakat. This research was expected to fill a gap that had not been studied in the previous research.

Concept of Distribution in Islamic Economics
According to the Dictionary of Bahasa Indonesia, the meaning of distribution is the delivery to several people or places (Https://Kbbi.Web.Id.2019,). Distribution can be defined as a marketing activity that expedites and facilitatess the delivery of goods and services from producers to consumers, so that the use is as needed (type, amount, price, and place).
Islam has two main distribution systems, namely commercial distribution and distribution system based on the aspect of social justice (Munthe, 2014).

1.
Distribution system that takes place through economic process (market mechanism) is a mechanism resulting from the exchange process of the owners of goods or services. This mechanism has been explained in Al-  9: 34). As a medium of exchange between one's property and another, between property and energy, between one's energy and another, money has a very strategic position. If money is withdrawn from the market and not obtained by humans, there will be no exchange and the wheels of the economy will stop.
2. Social Distribution (Non-Market Mechanism) is a mechanism that does not result from the exchange of goods and services transactions. The mechanism is the flow of goods and services from one party to another without asking for reciprocity. The forms of non-market mechanism are as follows.

Zakat, Infak, and Shadaqah
This mechanism is carried out for the weak and poor people. Islam creates it to ensure the balance of income in society. Islam ensures economic distribution for them (orphans, disabled people) in the form of zakat, infak, and shadaqah. Islam requires the rich people whose wealth reaches the nisab to pay zakat. It is for the poor people who need help. The payment of zakat does not have to wait for individual awareness. The state should be pro active in taking zakat from the Muslims (QS At-Taubah, 9: 103), as the Caliph Abu Bakar did in the past. He fought people who refused to pay zakat. Besides zakat, there are also infak and shadaqah that are offered. Those are given without expecting a return, as well as grants (hibah), gifts (hadiah), and wills (wasiat). Giving wealth to others is also highly recommended. The distribution of inheritance can also be included in the non-market mechanism.

Inheritance
Islam wants to ensure that properties and economic power cannot be concentrated in one person alone. If a father died, the children, wife, parents, grandfather, and others would receive his inheritance. It has already been managed systematically in faraidh.

Wakaf
There are so many forms of wakaf, such as building, cash, book, land, building material, vehicle, share, and another productive asset. Wakaf is not limited by rich, poor, or blood and kinship ties. Wakaf is a public facility that anyone can enjoy it.
Non-market mechanism can be done by a state. The state can give land to its citizen. In the term of fiqh, the policy is known as iqtha'. So, Islam does not make market mechanism the only mechanism in the distribution of wealth. With the two mechanisms, Islam guarantees the fulfillment of the primary needs of every citizen (Munthe, 2014). In order to implement this concept in the system of distribution, the following things need to be done. Islam creates some instruments to ensure the balance of income in society, such as zakat, infak, shadaqah, and wakaf. These instruments can create the balance in economy because not everyone can afford to be involved in the economy process due to disability, orphan, etc. Therefore, Allah multiplies the reward of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah.

Zakat and Poverty
Literally, the word zakat comes from the root zaka which means pure, blessed, growing, and commendable (Qardhawi, 2005). The word zaka has some meanings, such as blessed (al-barakatu), growing (al-namaa), pure (aththaharatu), and order (ash-shalahu). Meanwhile, based on its term, zakat is a part of property with certain conditions that Allah SWT obliges the owner to give to those who deserve it (Hafidhuddin, 2002). Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam which has a dimension of social justice (Andriyanto, 2011).
Zakat is blessed, pure, and increasing good deeds. It is called zakat because it can bless wealth and can protect it. The word zakat is used to show the amount that should be paid from money that has reached the nisab, as stated in Al-Qur'an (At-Taubah, 9: 103), "Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke (Allah's blessings) upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." The verse gives a command to people who have power to take zakat from people who are obliged to pay zakat. It is said that zakat is taken from their property (khudz min amwalihim shadaqatan) (Suwiknyo, 2010).
According to Muhammad, zakat is a property taken from assets managed by rich people, which is transferred to poor people and other groups that have been stipulated in Al-Qur'an which is called mustahik. In economic term, zakat is an act of transfer of income to the poor people (Nurbismi, 2018).
Zakat is one of the obligations ordered by Allah to Muslims as one of the acts of worship as well as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage (Arif, 2017). Zakat is the third pillar of Islam after syahadat and prayer which is related to humans (hablum minan nas) as a responsibility of human in earth to help each other and to share each other. Zakat has a function to form piety in the social system such as eradicating poverty, growing a sense of care and love for the weaker groups.
Allah obliges zakat to individual who can afford it with the aim of knowing how much human loves their creator rather than their wealth.
According to Ryandono, zakat is a way to distribute wealth from rich people to poor people. Zakat will grow economy fast; it will build brotherhood among economic actors and the economic gap will be narrow. On the other words, zakat can be used as a economy controller in order to achieve physical, spiritual, world, and hereafter welfare (falah) both present and future generations (Widiastuti et al., 2015).
Imam Al-Ghazali also says that what is said to be poor is a person who works but the income is not enough to fulfill the needs of life both for himself and his family. Poverty is the inability of a person to fulfill the minimum standard of basic needs to be able to live properly whether it is due to not being able to work because of health conditions, education, disability and so on. This definition is based on the relationship between poverty and zakat because zakat is related to property that can fulfill basic needs (Chaniago, 2015).
Poverty is the result of a mismatch in economy practice. Islam assumes that economy activity as a part of social responsibility aspect in the world.
People who involve in economy will have better life as long as the balance is maintained. Reducing poverty can be done by giving advice to rich people to spend some of their wealth because, as explained before, there are other people's assets in our property that we should give zakat. Therefore, a harmonious relationship will be created, so that the balance of social life is maintained.

Zakat as a Solution of Poverty Alleviation
From some of the causes of poverty above, some of them can be overcome by empowering zakat. Because poverty is a collective problem (individual, society and state), empowering zakat must be done collectively, so that the implementation of zakat can be effective and efficient. However, the role of state is very dominant because the state is a policy maker and a facilitator. There are some reasons why zakat must be managed by a state as follows (Chaniago, 2015) 1. Zakat is obligatory.
The state must give punishment for muzaki who does not want to pay zakat. The awareness of the people to pay zakat is very minimum compared to the number of muzaki.

2.
Zakat is related to poor people.
Poverty must be defined clearly, so that society do not determine the definition of poverty subjectively which is viewed as a personal relationship or closeness of a person or institution.
3. Zakat is related to the tax Everyone must pay zakat and tax. The purpose of zakat must be clear, so that the life of poor people does not depend on the mood of rich people.
If they depend on the mood of rich people, the poor people must be good at getting close to the rich people, otherwise the poor people will not get the rich's zakat.
Therefore, the causes above can be solved by implementing zakat because zakat is not a gift that will be consumed but it must be developed as a productive capital for the recipients that they can be muzaki in the future. This can be done if each party is government institution, society or nongovernmental organization, zakat management agency, muzaki, and the recipients of zakat.

The Previous Research
There were some writings which discussed about the topic of distribution as follows: 1. M. Anas Zarqa (1986) in "Islamic Distribution Schemes" concluded that

METHODOLOGY
This research was qualitative by using descriptive analysis. It was a field research. This method was considered the most capable to explore the poverty cases in detail that caused by the uneven distribution of zakat. According to Rianse, qualitative research examines the research subject or the informants in their daily life. Therefore, the researchers of qualitative research as much as possible interact directly with informants, get to know their lives closely, observe, and follow the informants' lives as they are. The understanding of symbols and native language of society was one of the keys to this research (Abdi, 2008). The topic of discussion in this research was the distribution of The technique of data analysis was done in some steps as follows: Data reduction was the data that had been collected and then processed and put into certain categories, Data display was the data that had been displayed by making the conclusion of the research results systematically and analyzing conceptually, and Drawing conclusion was making result conclusion from the data that had been collected from the result of interview and observation.

A Short Profile of Langsa Baitul Mal
Langsa is one of the city administrations in the Province of Aceh. This 1. The distribution of zakat is carried out every year. Besides serving the mustahik who came directly to Baitu Mal Office, we also pay greater attention to mustahik who we visit directly in order to make distribution effective and we establish closer friendships with them.

2.
Making productive use of infaq to be used as business capital for people so that they can develop to be independent.
3. Building shelter houses for mustahik who still live in uninhabitable places. There are 10 shelter houses that have been built until now which spread over a number of villages in Langsa. 14. Providing awards to muzaki who have a high commitment in distributing their zakat through Baitul Mal Langsa.

Besides building new shelter houses, Langsa
Some documentation of Baitul Mal Langsa activities can be seen in the attachment at the end of this profile.

Mechanism of the Distribution of Zakat Baitul Mal Langsa
The   The data above showed that Aceh occupied the sixth position as the region with the largest number of poor people in Indonesia after Gorontalo.
Various efforts to reduce poverty had been carried out by the central and regional government, including the Langsa City Government through various policies. However, these efforts still had not been able to provide maximum result in eliminating poverty in Langsa. Based on the data of BPS Langsa, the population of Langsa in 2019 was 168.820 people with a record poverty rate.
Although there was a decrease from the previous year, it was recognized that the poverty rate was still very high, so there needs to be an optimal distribution of zakat and income. The number of poor people in Langsa from 2011 to 2017 can be seen the table below. Based on the above table, it shows that the poverty rate in Langsa is still very high although the majority of population in Langsa is Muslim if it is viewed from religious perspective. This will certainly be ironic if poverty cannot be handled optimally even though poverty is a problem that is very concerned to be solved in Islam and one solution is to distribute zakat fairly and evenly. Muallaf is a person who converts to Islam (Alwi, 2005). In Langsa, all converts (muallaf) are given money after they took an oath (syahadat) and also they are given coaching facilities every week and zakat every year. Zakat is also intended for the operational activities, both for presenters, consumption, and transportation money for each convert. Minimally, the converts in Langsa got zakat from Baitul Mal for three years. The number of converts sometimes increases and decreases due to the migration of converts to other places (Ridwan, 2020).

Based on the reports on receipts and distribution of zakat Baitul Mal
Langsa in 2019, there was only one distribution channel of zakat for convert, namely the program of syahadat, coaching, and consumptive assiatance. For the program of syahadat, a convert got 500 thousand, 25 thousand for coaching (transportation) and 200 thousand for the day before Idul Fitri (Baitul Mal Kota Langsa, 2021.).
Gharim is a debtor. In this case, Baitul Mal Langsa provides zakat to a debtor in two ways, namely submitting a proposal and a letter of poverty. It is said by Tgk. Ridwan during the interview. It means that not every debtor was given zakat. Only people who submitted proposal and letter of poverty were given zakat. Usually, it was done by street vendors and the limit of submitting proposal was one million and 500 thousand Rupiah. This was done in 2013 by giving 300 million to 100 street vendors. They were given the convenience to pay in installments of 200 thousand per week. However, from 100 people who received the money, only 19 people returned zakat form Baitul Mal Langsa (Ridwan, 2020).
In the reports on receipts and distribution of zakat Baitul Mal Langsa in 2019, there were three distribution channels of zakat for gharim, namely personal debt assistance for syariat interest, debt assistance for the construction committee of religious facilities, and assistance for the maintenance of waqaf land or Baitul Mal Langsa assets (Baitul Mal Kota Langsa,

2021.).
For fi sabilillah and Ibnu Sabil, Baitul Mal usually gave textbooks to poor students in elementary level to high school level. In the distribution of textbooks, Baitul Mal Langsa cooperated with several bookstores in Langsa (Ridwan, 2020).

Based on the reports on receipts and distribution of zakat Baitul Mal
Langsa in 2019, it was noted that, for fi sabilillah, there was the distribution of zakat to recitation teachers in Langsa, to safari subuh and magrib (mosque, TPA). There was book assistance for poor students and the distribution for Islamic activities and for paying teacher honorarium for BMP and MTM.
Meanwhile, for Ibnu Sabil, there were four distribution channels of zakat, such as for all students in Langsa (SD, SMP, SMA, Dayah), for the education of tahfiz students of BMK Langsa, for travelers (musafir) and for urgent educational needs, and also special assistance for students and general study (Baitul Mal Kota Langsa, 2021).

Zakat as a Solution of Poverty Alleviation
Based on the result of interview with the recipients of zakat (mustahik) from Baitul Mal Langsa, Khatijah Ali and Fauziani who live in Geudubang Aceh said that it was true that they received zakat with the similar amount as the Baitul Mal said but the zakat they received was not sufficient for their daily needs. Zakat that they received was termed 'uang daging' before Idul Fitri. The 'uang daging' given was far from sufficient because the condition of the necessities had increased dramatically (Khadijah, 2020).
The same interview was done with Sukinem (62 years old), the resident of Sidodadi. She said: "with the assistance of zakat 200 thousand rupiah every Idul Fitri, it really helps me to fulfill my life needs. I always use the zakat from Baitul Mal Langsa to buy some food ingredients such as spices, a little meat and also I buy my child's new clothes. Although it is not enough, I feel very helped by the zakat. Zakat that has been given has not been able to increase my income because it is only given before Idul Fitri. However, I am very grateful that I have been given zakat which can help me to fulfill my needs before Idul Fitri." (Sukiman, 2020).
The same thing was also said by Khatijah Manyak, Sapiyah, Slamiyah, Lina, Mariani, Saudah, and Rita Wati, the residents of Langsa who received zakat from Baitul Mal Langsa. They said that zakat they had received had not been able to raise their standard of living to become capable. This meant that the zakat is still far from sufficient to fulfill their daily needs.
All interviews that had been done gave a conclusion that the zakat given to mustahik had no effect in reducing the poverty level of society. It was different with productive zakat. If Baitul Mal gave productive zakat or business capital and it was utilized properly by mustahik, it will be very influential in alleviating poverty, especially in Langsa. Of course, Baitul Mal will supervise and control in providing business capital, where the distribution of zakat was adjusted to their ability in developing their business.
If their business succeeded, Baitul Mal could provide another capital anymore until they were categorized as muzaki at the end, not mustahik anymore. Actually, the provision of productive zakat is very large in order to improve the welfare of society. However, as it had been done in 2013, more than 75% of people who received the productive zakat did not return their loan. In fact, it is hoped in the future Baitul Mal Langsa will be able to distribute the productive zakat again to others. b. Paying taxes and paying zakat was burdensome This was the reason why some people in Langsa did not want to pay their zakat to Baitul Mal Langsa. After thery paid zakat, they were also required to pay taxes. It became burdensome because there were two charges. Besides, they also had to support themselves and their family.

c. Paying zakat in the village
The society of Langsa was dominated by many immigrants from outside.
Then, they opened a business in Langsa. However, unfortunately, zakat from their business was not distributed in Langsa, the place where they worked, but they paid zakat in their village (Ridwan, 2020).

Researchers Analysis
Based on the concept of distribution, Baitul Mal Langsa had made every effort to distribute zakat to mustahik. It can be proven that all mustahik received zakat. None of the mustahik did not receive zakat. This was an endeavor that cannot be underestimated, considering that Baitul Mal Langsa must cooperate with many parties for the smooth distribution. However, it was realized that there were still many shortcomings of Baitul Mal Langsa in the distribution of zakat, considering the number of zakat recipients had not decreased significantly, even though one of the targets for the distribution of zakat was that mustahik would become muzaki. It was because the amount of zakat that they received was not enough, for example 'uang daging' that they received was only enough to buy a kilo of meat, not the rice, other food that had not been covered at all from the zakat they received.
It means that although zakat had been distributed by Baitul Mal Langsa, the poverty rate was very significant. The target of zakat had not been fully implemented. There were many societies in Langsa lived on the poverty line. It caused the criminal acts of theft which lead to the inability to live so that it was sufficient to carry out actions that disturbed society.
All can be put into benefit categories if they become one of maqashid syari'ah. It is not against Qur'an and Hadis and also the greater benefit. Therefore, all actions which aim at fulfilling the fifth maqashid are called benefit (maslahat), but the actions which delete the fifth maqashid are categorized as mafsadat.
In related to the distribution of zakat in Langsa with maslahat, it can be ensured that in distributing of zakat, there are many benefits obtained by muzaki and also mustahik. For muzaki, by giving zakat that has reached nisab, it makes the property they owned was not only concentrated to the rich people, but also distributed to the poor people because it was their right. It means that they were fulfilling the needs of dhu'afa because they spent their excess wealth, as Allah said in Al-Qur'an (Al-Baqarah, 219) "…And they ask you what they should spend. Say, "The excess (beyond needs). Thus Allah makes clear to you the verse (of revelation) that you might give thought." (Al-Huda, 2010).
DR. Wahbah Zuhaily in Tafsir Al-Munir explained the asbabun nuzul from the verse. He said that there was a group of friends when getting the order to give infaq to fisabilillah. They came to the Prophet Muhammad and asked what the form of infaq was. So, this verse came down and some scholars defined the meaning of nafkah, in the form of jihad, was sunnah (this was the opinion of the majority of scholars) and other defined it as zakat (Wahbah Zuhaily, n.d) The distribution concept of zakat in Islamic economic system is the distribution of zakat that aims at balancing the income of society. From the result of the empirical research, it showed that the distribution of zakat gave a positive impact in helping to fulfill the needs of society. It proved that zakat was managed by a professional amil institution. It can reduce the number of poor people and the income gap of zakat recipients can be realized. Therefore, it needed more maximal efforts in collecting and distributing zakat productively through the socialization and education about the obligations and assets that became the subject of zakat and trying to make muzaki pay their zakat through the legal organization of zakat management and also creating the program of productive zakat which was innovative and creative, considering that the distribution of zakat would never alleviate poverty if the amount of zakat was still low.
Zakat distribution for poverty alleviation can only be maximized when the distribution gets strict supervision from the Baitul Mal. It is different if there is a special program so the funds given can be maximized and there are supervision and coaching carried out by Baitul Mall. (Basuki, 2021) For mustahik, the benefit they obtained was they can fulfill their daily needs because in maqashid syariah, there is a type of protection and providing the needs of money (hifdzu al-maal). Furthermore, Islam wants, by distributing zakat properly, the social problems that always happened in society can be solved and it will rise baldatun thayyibatun wa rabbun ghafur. This cannot be taken lightly because there is a hadis which said, "the poor person is almost close to disbelief." This hadis implies that if the poverty in Islamic society cannot be solved well, it will have an impact on them staying away from Islam, and the poor people will easily change their belief or their ways of life. Therefore, we must give more attention to the poor people so that they can maintain their belief. In another hadis, it was said that Muslims are brothers. It means that if any part of the body is injured, the rest of the body will feel it too. We must implement it in our daily life. The little we spend, the benefits that have been given are very large. So, the budget of zakat in Langsa must be distributed in a bigger scope in order to get benefit that Islam wants and Langsa becomes a city of baldatun thayyibatun wa rabbun ghafur in this beloved country of Indonesia.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of research, the researchers concluded as follows: The distribution concept of zakat in Islamic economic system is the distribution of zakat that aims at balancing the income of society. From the result of the empirical research, it showed that the distribution of zakat gave a positive impact in helping to fulfill the needs of society. It proved that zakat was managed by a professional amil institution. It can reduce the number of poor people and the income gap of zakat recipients can be realized. Therefore, it needed more maximal efforts in collecting and distributing zakat productively through the socialization and education about the obligations and assets that became the subject of zakat and trying to make muzaki pay their zakat through the legal organization of zakat management and also creating the program of productive zakat which was innovative and creative, considering that the distribution of zakat would never alleviate poverty if the amount of zakat was still low.
The implementation of distribution of zakat in the form of poverty alleviation in Langsa was that zakat had been distributed evenly to all mustahik.
So, the budget of zakat in Langsa must be distributed in a bigger scope in order to get benefit that Islam wants and Langsa becomes a city of baldatun thayyibatun wa rabbun ghafur in this beloved country of Indonesia.