Zakah — the purifying gift · The essentials of Islam

In a minute

Once a year, every Muslim who has savings above a set threshold gives 2.5% of them to people in need. It is not a tip or a voluntary donation: it is a pillar of worship, the right that people in poverty have in the wealth of those who have enough. The word means both purifying and growing. Muslims believe that giving cleanses wealth and the heart, and that God makes what remains grow.

What it is and how it's lived

Who pays

An adult Muslim of sound mind whose qualifying wealth has stayed at or above the threshold (nisab) for a whole lunar year (hawl, about 354 days). Many British Muslims choose a fixed date, often in Ramadan, to work it out each year.

On what

Zakah is due on:

cash, bank savings and money owed to you that you expect to get back
gold and silver, including jewellery (some schools of law exempt jewellery in everyday use)
shares, investments and business stock
in agricultural and pastoral settings, crops and livestock, which have their own rates (for harvests, 10% if rain-watered, 5% if irrigated)

It is not due on your home, car, furniture, clothes or the tools you use for work. You deduct debts that are due now.

How much

Rate: 2.5% (one-fortieth) of qualifying wealth.
Threshold (nisab): the value of 87.48g of gold or 612.36g of silver. Some bodies round these to 85g and 595g. Scholars differ on which metal to use. Many UK organisations recommend the silver threshold, because it is lower and so more people give, which benefits more of the poor. Check current prices: the silver nisab is a few hundred pounds, the gold one several thousand.

Who receives it: the eight

The Qur'an names exactly who zakah is for (9:60):

the poor (al-fuqara') — those with little or nothing
the needy (al-masakin) — those who cannot meet their basic needs
those who collect and distribute it
those whose hearts are to be reconciled — for example, new Muslims or people whose goodwill is being won
freeing captives — historically, freeing slaves
people in debt who cannot pay
in the cause of God (fi sabili'llah) — interpreted by scholars in different ways, for example supporting those who serve the community
the stranded traveller (ibn al-sabil)

Most scholars say zakah should not go to your own parents, grandparents, children or spouse, whom you should support anyway. It should not go to purposes outside the eight, such as building a mosque, according to most scholars.

Zakat al-Fitr

A separate small gift is given by every Muslim household, for each member including children, before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan. It is the price of a simple meal, so that everyone can celebrate Eid.

Beyond zakah: sadaqah

Zakah is the floor, not the ceiling. Sadaqah is any voluntary giving, at any time and in any amount. It includes giving that isn't money: the Prophet said that a smile for your brother is charity (paraphrased; Jami' al-Tirmidhi 1956), and that every good deed is charity (paraphrased; Sahih al-Bukhari 6021, Sahih Muslim 1005).

In Britain, much Muslim giving happens in Ramadan, when many people choose to pay their zakat.

Its inner meaning

Muslims believe wealth belongs to God and is held in trust. Zakah loosens the grip of greed, reminds the giver where wealth comes from, and protects the dignity of those who receive it: it is their right, not a favour. The Prophet said that charity does not decrease wealth (paraphrased; Sahih Muslim 2588).

Key verses

"The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise." (Qur'an 9:60, Pickthall)

"Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst purify them and mayst make them grow, and pray for them." (Qur'an 9:103, Pickthall)

Arabic (9:103, opening): خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ صَدَقَةًۭ تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا

"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah's way is as the likeness of a grain which groweth seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. Allah giveth increase manifold to whom He will." (Qur'an 2:261, Pickthall)

"Establish worship, and pay the poor-due; and whatever of good ye send before (you) for your souls, ye will find it with Allah." (Qur'an 2:110, Pickthall)

Pickthall translates "zakah" as "the poor-due".

From the Prophet (peace be upon him)

When he sent Mu'adh to Yemen, the Prophet described zakah as taken from the wealthy among them and returned to the poor among them (paraphrased; Sahih al-Bukhari 1395). Zakah was first meant to be spent locally.
Charity does not decrease wealth; God raises the honour of the one who forgives; and whoever is humble for God's sake, God raises him (paraphrased; Sahih Muslim 2588).

Common misunderstandings, answered gently

"Zakah is a tax on income." It is on savings and assets held for a year, not on income as it arrives, and it is worship, so it needs an intention.
"It's just for Muslims." Zakah has defined recipients; scholars differ on giving it to non-Muslims in need, and many allow it in some categories. Sadaqah (voluntary charity) can go to anyone, and Muslim charities serve people of every faith.
"Only rich people pay." The threshold is modest. Many working people with savings pay zakah every year.

Sunni and Shia

Shia Muslims also pay zakah, though their scholars apply it to a narrower set of goods (such as gold and silver coin, certain crops and livestock). In addition, they pay khums: a fifth of the surplus of each year's income after living costs. Half goes to the needy descendants of the Prophet's family, and half supports religious learning and community needs, under the guidance of a senior scholar.

Reflection

If 2.5% of what you have is not really yours but someone else's right, who might it belong to this year?

In the other traditions

Judaism: tzedakah (from the word for justice) is a duty, not just a kindness, with a tradition of giving a tenth (ma'aser). Leaving the corners of the field for the poor is commanded in the Torah (Leviticus 19:9–10).
Christianity: Christians give alms and many tithe (give a tenth) to their church and to the poor, following teaching such as Jesus's words that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

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