Zakaah (Charity)
What is Zakaah ?
- Zakaah is one of the five pillars of Islam and is therefore a form of 'ibaadah
(worship). The word zakaah means "to purify" or "to cleanse".
- Zakaah is an obligation where a person takes a fixed percentage of his or her accumulated
wealth over a year and contributes it towards the poor and the needy. It is therefore a means of
distributing wealth and prevent the over accumulation of wealth.
- Zakaah is a way of keeping our wealth clean as well as encouraging us to assist those who are in need.
- Zakaah removes selfishness from a person, provides us an opportunity to share what we have with others.
- Zakaahmakes us considerate of the less fortunate.
- Zakaah together with sadaqah (voluntary regular charity), teaches us to promote the economic
welfare of the community.
- Remember that Zakaah is fard or obligatory while sadaqah is voluntary
- The special charity which a person who earns a living and is able to sustain his or her family must
give in Ramadaan, before 'Eid is celebrated, is called sadaqa-tul-fitr or zakaa-tul-fitr.
This special charity demands that for each member of the household, the income earner must feed at least one poor
person, or provide money to the poor to enable them to buy a decent meal. This act promotes goodwill and compassion.
- the poor
- the needy and destitute
- freeing those who are imprisoned
- helping those in debt
- helping those who are stranded, exiled or refugees
- to cover the cost of propagating Islam or assisting in the cost of defending Islam
- helping those whose hearts are inclined to Islam and may be in difficulty due to their inclination to Islam
- to pay those who collect the zakaah for distribution.