thumb|313x313px|Zakat spending as per the Quran on 8 categories of people
Zakat (or Zakāh) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the Arabic word for "giving to charity" or "giving to the needy". Zakat is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. and by Quranic ranking, is next after prayer (salah) in importance. Eight heads of zakat are mentioned in the Quran.
As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth to help the needy. It is a mandatory charitable contribution, often considered to be a tax. The payment and disputes on zakat have played a major role in the history of Islam, notably during the Ridda wars.
Zakat on wealth is based on the disposable income of an individual after fulfilling all their essential needs. It is customarily 2.5% (or ) of a Muslim's total disposable income after the necessities of their dependents and themselves, and Muslims who do not hold wealth above a minimum amount known as nisab do not need to pay Zakat,
Zakat is a mandatory form of charity in Islam and represents one of the Five Pillars of the faith. Many Muslims choose Ramadan as a time to calculate and distribute zakat because charitable acts are believed to carry greater spiritual significance during the month.Some online tools are also available to help individuals estimate their zakat obligations.
Etymology
The word Zakat comes from Arabic root z-k-w (ز ك و), meaning to purify. Zakat is considered a way to purify one's income and wealth from sometimes worldly, impure ways of acquisition. According to Sachiko Murata and William Chittick, "Just as ablutions purify the body and salah purifies the soul (in Islam), so zakat purifies possessions and makes them pleasing to God."
Zakat is found in the early Medinan suras and described as obligatory for Muslims. It is given for the sake of salvation. Muslims believe those who give zakat can expect reward from God in the afterlife, while neglecting to give zakat can result in damnation. Zakat is considered part of the covenant between God and a Muslim.
The Quran also lists who should receive the benefits of zakat, discussed in more detail below.
Hadith
Each of the most trusted hadith collections in Islam have a book dedicated to zakat. Sahih Bukharis Book 24, Sahih Muslims Book 12, and Sunan Abu-Dawuds Book 9 discuss various aspects of zakat, including who must pay, how much, when and what. The 2.5% rate is also mentioned in the hadiths.
The hadiths admonish those who do not give the zakat. According to the hadith, refusal to pay or mockery of those who pay zakat is a sign of hypocrisy, and God will not accept the prayers of such people. The sunna also describes God's punishment for those who refuse or fail to pay zakat. On the day of Judgment, those who did not give the zakat will be held accountable and punished.
The hadith contain advice on the state-authorized collection of the zakat. The collectors are required not to take more than what is due, and those who are paying the zakat are asked not to evade payment. The hadith also warn of punishment for those who take zakat when they are not eligible to receive it (see Distribution below). Zakat is additionally payable on agricultural goods, precious metals, minerals, and livestock at a rate varying between 2.5% and 20% (1/5), depending on the type of goods.
Zakat is usually payable on assets continuously owned over one lunar year that are in excess of the nisab, a minimum monetary value. However, Islamic scholars have disagreed on this issue. For example, Abu Hanifa did not regard the nisab limit to be a pre-requisite for zakat, in the case of land crops, fruits and minerals. Other differences between Islamic scholars on zakat and nisab are acknowledged as follows by Yusuf al-Qaradawi,</blockquote>
Failure to pay
thumb|A slot for giving zakat at the [[Zaouia Moulay Idriss II in Fez, Morocco]]
The consequence of failure to pay zakat has been a subject of extensive legal debate in traditional Islamic jurisprudence, particularly when a Muslim is willing to pay zakat but refuses to pay it to a certain group or the state. According to classical jurists, if the collector is unjust in the collection of zakat but just in its distribution, the concealment of property from him is allowed. However, prevailing opinion among classical jurists prescribed sanctions such as fines, imprisonment or corporal punishment. Some classical and contemporary scholars such as Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh and Yusuf al-Qaradawi have stated that the person who fails to pay Zakat should have the payment taken from them, along with half of his wealth. Additionally, those who failed to pay the zakat would face God's punishment in the afterlife on the day of Judgment.
Islamic scholars have traditionally interpreted this verse as identifying the following eight categories of Muslim causes to be the proper recipients of zakat:
- Those living without means of livelihood (Al-Fuqarā), the poor and potential allies in the cause of Islam or for Islamic warriors who fight against the unbelievers but are not salaried soldiers.
- Wayfarers, stranded travellers (Ibnu Al-Sabīl), According to the Reliance of the Traveller, the Shafi'i school requires zakat is to be distributed equally among the eight categories of recipients, while the Hanafi school permits zakat to be distributed to all the categories, some of them, or just one of them.
Muslim scholars disagree whether zakat recipients can include non-Muslims. Islamic scholarship, historically, has taught that only Muslims can be recipients of zakat. In recent times, some state that zakat may be paid to non-Muslims after the needs of Muslims have been met, finding nothing in the Quran or sunna to indicate that zakat should be paid to Muslims only.
Additionally, the zakat funds may be spent on the administration of a centralized zakat collection system.
Role in society
The zakat is considered by Muslims to be an act of piety through which one expresses concern for the well-being of fellow Muslims, Zakat promotes a more equitable redistribution of wealth and fosters a sense of solidarity amongst members of the Ummah.
Historical practice
Zakat, an Islamic practice initiated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was first collected on the first day of Muharram. It has played an important role throughout its history. Schact suggests that the idea of zakat may have entered Islam from Judaism, with roots in the Hebrew and Aramaic word zakut. disagree that the Qur'anic verses on zakat (or zakah) have roots in Judaism.
The caliph Abu Bakr, believed by Sunni Muslims to be Muhammad's successor, was the first to institute a statutory zakat system. Abu Bakr established the principle that the zakat must be paid to the legitimate representative of Muhammad's authority (i.e. himself).
The second and third caliphs, Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan, continued Abu Bakr's codification of the zakat. During the reign of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the issue of zakat was tied to legitimacy of his government. After Ali, his supporters refused to pay zakat to Muawiyah I, as they did not recognize his legitimacy.
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, and in various Islamic polities of the past was expected to be paid by all practising Muslims who have the financial means (nisab). In addition to their zakat obligations, Muslims were encouraged to make voluntary contributions (sadaqat). The zakat was not collected from non-Muslims, although they were required to pay the jizyah tax. Depending on the region, the dominant portion of zakat went typically to Amil (the zakat collectors) or Sabīlillāh (those fighting for religious cause, the caretaker of local mosque, or those working in the cause of God such as proselytizing non-Muslims to convert to Islam).
In a 2019 study conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding that examined philanthropy for American Muslims in comparison to other faith and non-faith groups, it was found that for American Muslims, Zakat was an important driver of charitable giving. This results in American Muslims being the most likely faith group studied to be motivated to donate based on a believed religious obligation (zakat), and a "feeling that those with more should help those with less", referencing again the concept and religious imperative behind Zakat.
Zakat status in Muslim countries
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Country !!Status
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| ||Voluntary
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| ||Voluntary
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| ||Voluntary
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| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Mandatory
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
|||Voluntary
|-
| ||Mandatory
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Mandatory
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Mandatory
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary
|-
| ||Voluntary
|-
| ||Mandatory
|}
Among the Shia Muslims, deputies on behalf of Imams collect the zakat. In Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, the zakat is regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary.
The states where Zakat is compulsory differ in their definition of the base for zakat computation.
Under compulsory systems of zakat tax collection, such as Malaysia and Pakistan, evasion is very common and the zakat (alms tax) is regressive. According to the self-reported poll, British Muslims, on average, gave US$567 to charity in 2013, compared to $412 for Jews, $308 for Protestants, $272 for Catholics and $177 for atheists. This has caused significant conflicts and allegations of zakat abuse within the Islamic community, both historically
Fi Sabillillah is the most prominent asnaf in Southeast Asian Muslim societies, where it broadly construed to include funding missionary work, Quranic schools and anything else that serves the Islamic community (ummah) in general.
Role in society
In 2012, Islamic financial analysts estimated annual zakat spending between US$200 billion and US$1 trillion per year, which would be at least 15 times more than global humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations. Islamic scholars and development workers state that much of this zakat practice is mismanaged, wasted or ineffective. continues to live on $1.25 a day or less, according to the 2012 report.
Related terms
Zakat is required of Muslims only. For non-Muslims living in an Islamic state, sharia was historically seen as mandating jizya (poll tax). Other forms of taxation on Muslims or non-Muslims, that have been used in Islamic history, include kharaj (land tax), khums (tax on booty and loot seized from non-Muslims, sudden wealth), ushur (tax at state border, sea port, and each city border on goods movement, customs), kari (house tax) and chari (sometimes called maara, pasture tax).
There are differences in the interpretation and scope of zakat and other related taxes in various sects of Islam. For example, khums is interpreted differently by Sunnis and Shi'ites, with Shia expected to pay one fifth of their excess income after expenses as khums, while Sunnis do not. At least a tenth part of zakat and khums every year, among Shi'ites, after its collection by Imam and his religious deputies under its doctrine of niyaba, goes as income for its hierarchical system of Shia clergy. Among Ismaili sub-sect of Shias, the mandatory taxes which includes zakat, is called dasond, and 20% of the collected amount is set aside as income for the Imams. Some branches of Shia Islam treat the right to lead as Imam and right to receive 20% of collected zakat and other alms as a hereditary right of its clergy.
Sadaqah is another related term for charity, usually construed as a discretionary counterpart to zakat.
Zakat al-Fitr
Zakat al-Fitr or Sadaqat al-Fitr is another, smaller charitable obligation, mandatory for all Muslims—male or female, minor or adult as long as he/she has the means to do so—that is traditionally paid at the end of the fasting in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Zakat al-Fitr is a fixed amount assessed per person, while Zakat al-mal is based on personal income and property. According to one source, the Hidaya Foundation, the suggested Zakat al-Fitr donation is based on the price of 1 Sa (approx. 3 kg) of rice or wheat at local costs, (as of 2015, approximately $7.00 in the U.S.).