DEVELOPING AN INTEGRATED PRODUCTIVE ZAKAT EMPOWERMENT FRAMEWORK FOR MUSTAHIK SELF-RELIANCE

A CASE STUDY OF BAZNAS SUKOHARJO

Abstract

Productive zakat is increasingly recognized as a strategic instrument of Islamic social finance for poverty alleviation and sustainable economic empowerment. However, previous studies have generally focused on program effectiveness based on economic outcomes or examined empowerment components separately, while integrated frameworks explaining the relationships among these components in fostering mustahik self-reliance remain limited. This study aims to analyze productive zakat implementation, identify factors influencing mustahik self-reliance, and develop an Integrated Productive Zakat Empowerment Framework based on empirical evidence from BAZNAS Sukoharjo Regency. A qualitative case study was conducted through in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña and concept analysis based on Rodgers and Walker and Avant. The findings show that mustahik self-reliance develops through the interaction of beneficiary assessment, need-based productive capital, entrepreneurial capacity development, continuous business mentoring, spiritual empowerment, institutional and market networking, and sustainability-oriented monitoring and evaluation. Institutional commitment, mustahik motivation, mentoring quality, stakeholder collaboration, and the business environment also influence this process. The study’s novelty lies in integrating previously fragmented components into a coherent framework that explains their functional relationships in fostering mustahik self-reliance, positioning productive zakat as a sustainable empowerment process rather than merely capital distribution.