This study attempts to identify convenient poverty assessment in Kelantan, Malaysia. It uses primary data from 546 households based on stratified multi-stage sampling process among Kelantan's poor and needy zakat recipients who occupy the bottom decile group of living standards The monthly expenditure and income poverty lines were used as standard of measurement to measure poverty. To address dimension of poverty this study uses three major indices of poverty, the Headcount Index, Poverty Gap Index and Sen Index. These poverty methods will analyse the poverty in terms of incidence, intensity and severity of poverty. The results show that expenditure method poverty line is 1.6 times higher than income method poverty line. The expenditure of the poor and needy in Kelantan was 1.5 times higher than their income. This study also indicates that the lowest monthly expenditure requires 31 per cent of poverty line to reach minimum level while the lowest monthly income require 83 per cent of poverty line to achieve the same level. Headcount index shows that expenditure approach estimates higher number of poor than income approach, 91 and 80 per cent of sample are under poverty line in Kelantan using expenditure and income methods, respectively. The poverty gap index was 0.51 for expenditure and 0.43 for income method in the study area. In Kelantan, on average 51 per cent of the poverty line cash transfer is needed to lift each poor person out of poverty following expenditure method. However, on average 43 per cent of the poverty line cash transfer is needed to lift each poor person out of poverty following income method.

Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam that emphasises the socio-economic development. Any discussion on zakat in the context of worship cannot be disconnected from the socio-economic factor, especially in aiding the underprivileged. The primary purpose of zakat is to redistribute wealth of the society among the poor. Zakat is not purely welfare-oriented that relies on the contribution of the giver but an obligation that must be carried out to qualified recipients. Therefore, it is pertinent that the management of zakat is made efficient to ensure that the rights of the recipients and the society, in general, will not be put in jeopardy. The question is then raised regarding the type of zakat distribution or programmes pertaining to the asnaf Muallaf. The objective of this article is to explore zakat distribution programmes for sustaining muallaf belief (Tauhid) and thoughts (Iman). The methodology of this article is based on qualitative research through document analysis and interview with zakat officer. This article has revealed that a huge amount had been allocated for the development of asnaf Muallaf. It is conclude that, State Islamic Religious Council needs to continuously improve a comprehensive programmes that focus on sustaining the Muallaf belief (Tauhid) and thoughts (Iman).