Information About Zakat (Alms)
- lawyerinlahore
- Jun 17
- 2 min read
Zakat is an almsgiving which is also one of the Five Pillars of the Islamic faith and is considered a core of the faith. It is an obligatory charity and all Muslims who can pay it must do so annually; it is usually charged as 2.5 per cent of the wealth accumulated by an individual. The main aim of Zakat is to ensure that the wealth should be distributed to the needy that is why it should be given in charity to help in equalizing the economy of the financial world and also it helps in bringing to the Muslim community. Unlike optional charity (sadaqah), Zakat is a must and its significance is underlined many times in the Quran along with frequent prayers (salah).
The Quran sets out clearly the recipients of Zakat. These are the poor, the needy, the people who owe a debt, the travellers, and other people belonging to certain groups like new Muslims or those working in management of collection and distribution of Zakat. Such structure makes sure that Zakat goes to the neediest and underscores both short-term and long-term social provisions. Performing this obligation, the Muslims can contribute to the reduction of poverty and the improvement of relations between the wealthy and the poor.
There are also spiritual and moral gains of the giver of Zakat. It is a kind of cleansing, it does not only purify the wealth of greed and selfishness but also makes the donator more involved with God. Giving Zakat trains people to be grateful and modest because Muslims are reminded that wealth is a gift of Allah and it must be handled with care and distributed by means of generosity. It instills compassion and furthers a feeling of responsibility to the rest of the world united to the people.
It is a common practice in contemporary times that most of the Muslim-majority countries have organized charities or government agencies that help control Zakat so that its collection and distribution is proper. It contributes greatly to financing medical, educational and social welfare in most communities. By direct distribution or even by dissemination via institutions, Zakat remains an effective feature in the sphere of social justice and imbibing communities, all whilst attaining nonreligious and religious purposes both.
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