ABSTRACT
The chapter aims to assess the utilisation of zakat funds in the productive assistance programme called Az-Ziraah and the potential of the programme based on the experience of its pilot stage. The chapter is qualitative-based research. It uses both a focus group and content analysis approach to gather primary data through in-depth interviews with the officers in charge of the programme and a review of relevant literature related to zakat and the productive assistance program. It was found that the programme encountered a number of challenges and limitations. Availability of land is very important for the programme to run, and strong support from top management is also required to ensure the success and smooth flow of this programme.
