Zakat Behavior in Urban Communities: A Sharia-Oriented Phenomenological Study

Abstrak

This study advances the understanding of zakat behavior by challenging dominant behavioral approaches particularly those grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior which reduce compliance to measurable determinants while overlooking its legal and experiential dimensions. Adopting a socio-legal Islamic law perspective, this research employs an interpretive phenomenological approach to examine how muzakki experience, interpret, and enact zakat as a binding religious obligation in contemporary urban contexts. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 informants and analyzed using a systematic thematic coding process. The findings reveal that zakat behavior is fundamentally meaning-driven, rooted in experiential religiosity as an internalized moral and spiritual awareness. Institutional trust emerges not as a direct determinant, but as an interpretive mediator through which individuals assess the legitimacy of formal and informal zakat practices, resulting in hybrid distribution patterns. Critically, maqasid al-shariah operates as a practical framework of legal reasoning, guiding compliance based on the perceived realization of maslahah, adl, and tazkiyah, rather than procedural adherence alone. By integrating phenomenological insights with socio-legal analysis, this study reconceptualizes zakat behavior as a meaning-driven, legally interpreted, and socially embedded process. It contributes to the literature by moving beyond determinant-based models toward an integrative framework that bridges Islamic legal theory and empirical behavior. Practically, the findings underscore the need for maqasid-oriented governance and hybrid zakat management strategies that enhance institutional legitimacy by aligning formal systems with lived religious expectations.