Zakat الزكاة

Overview

Zakat (زَكَاة) is the obligatory annual almsgiving on accumulated wealth — the third of the Five Pillars. It is a fixed share (commonly 2.5% on monetary wealth held for a lunar year above the nisab) distributed to eight categories defined in the Qur'an. Distinct from voluntary charity (sadaqah), Zakat is a right of the poor upon the wealthy.

Etymology

The root ز-ك-و carries the dual meaning of purification and growth. The wealth is purified by separating the due portion, and what remains is blessed with increase — a theme the Qur'an ties closely to spiritual purification of the soul.

Quranic references

Zakat is paired with Salah dozens of times: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:43 — 'And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow.'

Its purifying function: Surah At-Tawbah 9:103 — 'Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them.'

The eight categories of recipients: Surah At-Tawbah 9:60 — 'Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [them] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the stranded traveler.'

And the warning to hoarders: Surah At-Tawbah 9:34 — 'And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah — give them tidings of a painful punishment.'

Hadith and tradition

Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet ﷺ sent Mu'adh to Yemen and told him: "Inform them that Allah has obligated upon them a charity to be taken from their wealthy and returned to their poor." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1395

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Wealth does not decrease by charity." — Sahih Muslim 2588

After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr fought those who refused Zakat, declaring he would wage war against anyone who separated Salah from Zakat — narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari 1399.

Significance

Zakat purifies wealth and the soul of greed, redistributes resources, dignifies the poor, and strengthens the bonds of the ummah. The believer who fulfills it joins the Muminun described in the Qur'an, while withholding it is among the gravest sins — its withholders, the Prophet ﷺ warned, will be branded with their hoarded gold on the Day of Judgement.

See also

Sawm · Salah · Ramadan · Shahada · Hajj

References

1. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, on Surah At-Tawbah 9:60 and 9:103.
2. Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Qur'an, fiqh of Zakat and its recipients.
3. Al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Zakat.
4. Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu al-Fatawa, on the obligation and rulings of Zakat.