As one of the five pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious duty of all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth. It is a mandatory charitable contribution.
The Foundation came up with the request in a media statement on Thursday.
The statement said due to coronavirus crisis many people lost their jobs and many became destitute without any earning source.
In this crisis moment, the Foundation has initiated to spend the government fund of zakat for the unemployed and needy people, it stated.
Also read: Coronavirus: Islamic Foundation issues guidelines over namaz, safety
The rich people of the society has been specially requested to lend a helping hand to tackle the crisis.
Meanwhile, 706 more people tested positive for coronavirus, taking the confirmed number of infected people to 12,425 till Thursday.