Zakat: An Obligatory Charity
In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. ZAKAT: AN OBLIGATORY CHARITY Author: Sajid Mahmood Ansari Islam is the religion of love and peace. It directs the Muslims to constitute a caring community, creating harmony, brotherhood, and respect for one another. Zakat is one of the five Fundamental Pillars of Islam. Zakat is a religious obligation and a mode of worship for wealthy Muslims. It is emphasized time and again in the Holy Qur’an to pay Zakat to needy people. In addition to an obligatory charity, Zakat is a mode of worship. The only objective of a Muslim for paying Zakat is to please his Lord Allah, the Exalted. He intends no worldly benefits in exchange for this good deed because actions go by intentions. Importance of Zakat in the Qur’an The word Zakat appears in the Holy Qur’an 32 times as a nominative case. Here is an instance: “ And establish prayer and give Zakat, and whatever good you put forward for yourselves – you will find it with Allah. Indeed...