What you need to know about Zakat, Islam’s version

A lot of people do not realise that Muslims have theirs too, and its called the Zakat.

What exactly is this?

It is the Islamic equivalent of Christian tithing but is also more than that.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam, which means it is very important to Muslims.

In Arabic, the word ‘Zakat’ translates as ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’. Basically, it t means purifying your wealth by acknowledging that everything comes and belongs to Allah.

Muslims see it as a religious obligation, ranked after prayer in importance.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has said: “Whoever pays the zakat on his wealth will have its evil removed from him” (Ibn Khuzaimah and at-Tabaraani).

Zakat has rules

While Christians are expected to pay 10% of their monthly income, Zakat is 2.5% of your total cumulative wealth in one year.

However, not everyone is expected to pay this. This is for Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of having an annual financial surplus that is above a minimum amount known as nisab. This amount differs among Islamic scholars.

While tithing is open to any Christian with an income, Zakat is about giving 2.5% of one’s financial surplus in a year.

Unlike Christians who pay to churches, Zakat goes directly to the poor or to zakat collectors, who then distribute to poor Muslims.

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Zakat vs Sadaqah

Muslims have two forms of charity. The first is the previously discussed Zakat, while the second is called Sadaqa.

The major difference between the two is that Zakat is obligatory charity, while the second one is simply an additional charity that is entirely voluntary.

This just goes to show how much religions have in common.