Charity Giving (Zakah)

What Is Zakat?

Zakat is an Islamic finance term referring to the obligation that an individual has to donate a certain proportion of wealth each year to charitable causes.

Zakat is a mandatory process for Muslims and is regarded as a form of worship. Giving away money to the poor is said to purify yearly earnings that are over and above what is required to provide the essential needs of a person or family.

Zakat, a practice initiated by Muhammed himself, has played an important role throughout Islamic history. Initially, Muhammed instituted Zakat as a voluntary, individual offering, but

Zakat was made compulsory in the second year of hijrat.

Zakah has a deep charitable and social-political value; for example, it frees society from class warfare, from ill feelings, distrust and from corruption.

It also purifies the heart of the recipient from greed and jealousy, from extreme dislike, discomfort and it fosters instead good-will and warm wishes for the contributors

Rate of zakat

Zakat is payable not on cash but also on gold and silver, jewellery, crops, animals, minerals, agriculture, lands and all kind of commercial goods, and all articles of trade.

Zakah is paid on the net balance after paying personal expenses, family expenses, due credits, taxes, etc

on cash, gold and silver zakat is paid at

rate of 2.5%

a person who possesses 52 ½ tolas of silver or 7 ½ tolas of gold is liable to pay zakat.

Note: Zakat may not be given to descendents of the prophet Muhammad, nor may it be given to parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, or spouses.

It is also forbidden to disburse zakat funds to organizations that pay salaries to their employees, or use the money for investments.

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