Zakat

Not to be confused with Zagat.
For other uses, see Zakat (disambiguation).

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Silver or gold coinage is one way of granting zakat.

Zakat (or Zakāh) is one of the five pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "Giving to Charity" or "Giving to the Needy".[a][3] Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah.[1] It is considered in Islam a religious obligation,[4][5] and by Quranic ranking, is next after prayer (salat) in importance.[6] Eight heads of zakat are mentioned in the Quran.

As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth to help the needy.[7][8] It is a mandatory charitable contribution, often considered to be a tax.[9][10] The payment and disputes on zakat have played a major role in the history of Islam, notably during the Ridda wars.[11][12][page needed]

Zakat on wealth is based on the value of all of one's possessions.[13][14] It is customarily 2.5% (or 1⁄40)[15] of a Muslim's total savings and wealth above a minimum amount known as nisab each lunar year,[16] but Islamic scholars differ on how much nisab is and other aspects of zakat.[16] According to Islamic doctrine, the collected amount should be paid to the poor and the needy, Zakat collectors, orphans, widows, those to be freed from slavery, the aged who cannot work to feed themselves, those in debt, in the cause of God and to benefit the stranded traveller.

Today, in most Muslim-majority countries, zakat contributions are voluntary, while in Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, zakat is mandated and collected by the state (as of 2015).[17][18]

Shias, unlike Sunnis, have traditionally regarded zakat as a private action, and they give zakat to imam-sponsored rather than state-sponsored collectors, but it is also obligatory for them.[19][20][21]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference fvbb1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Zakat Al-Maal (Tithing)". Life USA. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Zakah". www.islam101.com. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. ^ Salehi, M. (2014). "A Study on the Influences of Islamic Values on Iranian Accounting Practice and Development". Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance. 10 (2): 154–182. doi:10.12816/0025175. Zakat is a religious tax that every Muslim has to pay.
  5. ^ Lessy, Z. (2009). "Zakat (almsgiving) management in Indonesia: Whose job should it be?". La Riba Journal Ekonomi Islam. 3 (1). Zakat is alms-giving and religiously obligatory tax.
  6. ^ Hallaq, Wael (2013). The impossible state: Islam, politics, and modernity's moral predicament. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0231162562.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference yaqaradxix was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Islam: Islam at a glance". BBC – Religions. 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022.
  9. ^ Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Ṭūsī (2010), Concise Description of Islamic Law and Legal Opinions, ISBN 978-1904063292, pp. 131–135.
  10. ^ Hefner R.W. (2006). "Islamic economics and global capitalism". Society. 44 (1): 16–22. doi:10.1007/bf02690463. S2CID 153432583. Zakat is a tax levied on income and wealth for the purpose of their purification.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference mbonner15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Shoufani, Elias (1973), Al-Riddah and the Muslim Conquest of Arabia, University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-0802019158.
  13. ^ Décobert, C. (1991), Le mendiant et le combattant, L’institution de l’islam, Paris: Éditions du Seuil, pp. 238–240.
  14. ^ Medani Ahmed and Sebastian Gianci, Zakat, Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy, p. 479, quote: "As one of the Islam's five pillars, zakat becomes an obligation due when, over a lunar year, one controls a combination of income and wealth equal to or above Nisaab."
  15. ^ Sarwar, Muhammad (2015). al-Kafi Volume 1 of 8 (2nd ed.). New York: The Islamic Seminary Inc. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-9914308-6-4.
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference yaqaradawi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marty-1996-p.320 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hasan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Jones, Owen Bennett (2003). Pakistan: Eye of the Storm (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-0300101478.
  20. ^ John, Wilson (2009). John, Wilson (ed.). Pakistan: The Struggle Within. Pearson Education India. p. 105. ISBN 978-8131725047.
  21. ^ Kumaraswamy, P. R.; Copland, Ian (18 October 2013). Kumaraswamy, P.R.; Copland, Ian (eds.). South Asia: The Spectre of Terrorism. Routledge. p. 132. ISBN 978-1317967736.


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