Zakat-The Third Pillar Of Islam, Zakat & Its Importance

Zakat-The Third Pillar Of Islam, Zakat & Its Importance
6 min read
04 December 2022

The Meaning Of Zakat:

Zakat can be described as an Arabic word which means "to purify". Following Salah, (interlink of Salah to be added) Zakat is the third Islamic pillar. The literal description of Zakat is the purification of the soul and wealth through almsgiving and charity. The intention behind this foundational pillar of Islam is to establish the notion of equality among Muslims by bringing them to a higher level of their status and wealth.

History Of Zakat:

According to various sources and sources, it has been revealed that prophets prior to Muhammad (SAW) were told to collect the payments of Zakat but this was an optional requirement for them. Following the time that Islam was fully embraced and accepted, the idea of paying Zakats was made a mandatory activity for all Muslims. It was believed that the prophet Muhammad (SAW) received the ordered to make the Zakats payment at a particular time of the year, and it is believed that it came from the Islamic world.

Importance Of Zakat:

Zakat is significant and important. Zakat can be emphasized by the following fact: Zakat is a word that Zakat is mentioned more than 82 times within the Holy Quran along with Salah. The Zakat and its significance are highlighted in a variety of events in the Quran.

Zakat & The Holy Quran:

The 43rd verse of Surah Baqarah states about Zakat that:

Make the prayer a reality and pay the Zakat and bow with the bowers."

Verse 13 of Surah Mujadilah highlights the concept of Zakat as:

"And thoroughly continue to duly establish the Prayer, and give the Zakat-Charity".

Zakat is also mentioned in verse 274 in Surah Baqarah as;

"Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve".

The Third Pillar In The Hadiths:

One of the prophets of Islam, Muhammad (SAW) was quoted in the context of Zakat that:

"The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents." (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24, 507)

In another instance, he told that:

"Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, 'O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,' and the other (angel) says, 'O Allah! Destroy every miser." (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24,539)

Zakat And Its Recipients:

There are 8 kinds of people described in the Quran that one can pay the Zakat.

  1. The poor are those who can't pay for their basic needs
  2. The needy, i.e. people who are in dire need of anything
  3. The Zakat administrators and collectors are in order to distribute further
  4. Anyone who has recently converted Muslims who are unable to pay their demands
  5. People who are slaves or captives
  6. The people who are burdened by credit card debts
  7. The people who are on the move or fighting for the cause of Allah
  8. The travelers who are short of resources

Benefits Of Paying The Charity:

There are many societal and spiritual benefits of spending the Zakats. They are:

  • Zakat introduces us to the concept of equality
  • Zakat cleanses the soul and wealth
  • It makes one feel closer to Allah
  • Zakat cleanses us of our sins
  • It explains the concept of brotherhood
  • The Zakat is a way to eliminate inequality and promotes a stable society
  • It is a way to cleanse one's personality
  • Zakat helps to demolish the poverty
  • Zakat removes the grudges and strange feelings that lie in the heart of poor people.
  • The same is true for Zakat. Zakat takes away the feeling of pride that is in the hearts of the wealthy

The Purpose Of Almsgiving:

The primary purpose of Zakat is to establish the concept of equality as well as solidarity in Muslim society. The almsgiving concept was introduced to eliminate the distinction of mentality between the king and slave. By this pillar of Islam one Muslim is able to purify their money in order to convert it into halal and the poor and needy of the nation are assisted without any notion of judgment or superiority.

Conditions of Zakat:

The Zakat is only eligible upon following conditions:

  • The giver must be a Muslim because charity is a method to bring a person closer to Allah
  • The person who donates to a charity must fulfill the required calculations of a Zakat and be wealthy enough to support them
  • He should be an adult and believe in the foundations of Islam and their importance
  • He must not be either a slave or a prisoner

The Curriculum Of The Zakat:

The curriculum (Nisab) of Zakat is that the amount of wealth must be more than the threshold amount. To determine this Nisab , are two types of measurements which are silver or gold.

What is the Nisab of gold is 87.4 grams, or the equivalent cash. The Nisab in silver is 612.3 Grams, or the equivalent cash. Furthermore, one can also give Zakat in the form of pensions, cattle or agricultural goods, etc.

Zakat & The Today's Era:

The idea of paying for the Zakat is becoming less important each day in the modern age, resulting in a society that is unbalanced, not purifying wealth, and inequality between the rich and the poor. These disasters also cause severe damage to the unity in the Muslims empire. This is because their unity is less strong as opposed to their earlier days. For the coverage of these issues, the leaders need to set proper institutions and training for collecting the Zakat, so that the future generation and era may not be deprived of these blessings as well as the important sources of Islam.

 

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