What is zakat?
Zakat in Arabic means "purification, growth". In Islamic law, zakat is a fixed portion of a Muslim's wealth that reaches the nisab threshold and must be given once a year to those in need. Zakat is the third of the five pillars of Islam.
A Qur'anic verse on zakat
«And establish prayer and give zakāh and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].»
(Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 43)
Zakat is mentioned more than thirty times in the Qur'an alongside prayer. This shows how foundational zakat is in Islam.
The meaning of the word zakat
- Purification — it cleanses wealth from impurity
- Growth — Allah blesses the giver with increase
- Worship — it is a servant's responsibility before Allah
Who must pay zakat?
Zakat is obligatory upon a Muslim meeting these conditions:
- Being Muslim
- Being of age (post-puberty)
- Being of sound mind
- Being free
- Owning the nisab amount
- One full lunar year passing over the wealth (hawl)
Zakat in hadith
"Islam is built on five: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger, establishing prayer, giving zakat, performing Hajj, and fasting in Ramadan."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 8; Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 16)
In the next article we explain how to calculate zakat, the nisab and the 2.5% rule in detail.
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