Charity is
not just recommended by Islam, it is required of every financially stable
Muslim.
Giving charity to those who
deserve it is part of Muslim character and one of the Five Pillars of Islamic
practice. Zakat is viewed as “compulsory
charity”; it is an obligation for those who have received their wealth from God
to respond to those members of the community in need. Devoid of sentiments of universal love, some
people know only to hoard wealth and to add to it by lending it out on
interest. Islam’s teachings are the very
antithesis of this attitude. Islam
encourages the sharing of wealth with others and helps people to stand on their
own and become productive members of the society.
In Arabic it is known as zakat which literally means
“purification”, because zakat is considered to purify one’s heart of
greed. Love of wealth is natural and it
takes firm belief in God for a person to part with some of his wealth. Zakat must be paid on different categories of
property — gold, silver, money; livestock; agricultural produce; and business
commodities — and is payable each year after one year’s possession. It requires an annual contribution of 2.5
percent of an individual’s wealth and assets.
Like prayer, which is both an individual and communal
responsibility, zakat expresses a Muslim’s worship of and thanksgiving to God
by supporting those in need. In Islam,
the true owner of things is not man, but God.
Acquisition of wealth for its own sake, or so that it may increase a
man’s worth, is condemned. Mere
acquisition of wealth counts for nothing in the sight of God. It does not give man any merit in this life
or in the hereafter. Islam teaches that
people should acquire wealth with the intention of spending it on their own
needs and the needs of others.
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