What zakat is, and why it matters

The meaning of zakat, its place as the third pillar of Islam, and the warnings and rewards the Qur'an and hadith attach to it.

Zakat is giving a small, set share of your savings to poor Muslims every year. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, just like Salah (the five daily prayers). The Qur'an talks about Zakat and Salah together very often, because they are both so important.

Zakat means ‘to purify, to bless, and to grow.’ When you give Zakat, it cleans the wealth you keep, brings you Allah’s blessing, and Allah rewards you ten times or more for it in the Hereafter.

But there is very good news too. The Qur’an promises a great reward to those who pray and give Zakat, and says Allah’s mercy is written for those who are mindful of Him and give Zakat. Hadiths say Zakat keeps your wealth safe, that wealth without Zakat paid on it is lost, and that giving Zakat cleans both your wealth and yourself.

Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, an obligatory act of worship held in the same high esteem as Salah. After Salah, nothing in the Shariah receives greater emphasis: the Qur'an pairs Zakat with Salah in more than thirty places, and hadith repeatedly mentions them together, since Salah is the pivotal act of worship and Zakat is bound to it in importance.

In Arabic, Zakah means purification, blessing and growth. In Islamic law it is the obligation to give a specific portion of one’s wealth to a poor Muslim, one who is neither a Sayyid nor a lawful slave, as fixed by the Shariah. Doing so purifies the wealth that remains, brings Allah’s blessing, increases wealth in this world, and earns a reward of ten times or more in the Hereafter. This is why it is called Zakah.

On withholding what Allah has given

وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَبْخَلُوْنَ بِمَا͏ٓ اٰتٰىهُمُ اللّٰهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهٖ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْؕ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمْؕ سَيُطَوَّقُوْنَ مَا بَخِلُوْا بِهٖ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِؕ وَلِلّٰهِ مِيْرَاثُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِؕ وَاللّٰهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ خَبِيْرٌ ۝١٨٠ࣖ

Wa lā yaḥsabanna'lladhīna yabkhalūna bimā ātāhumu'llāhu min faḍlihī huwa khayran lahum, bal huwa sharrun lahum, sayuṭawwaqūna mā bakhilū bihī yawma'l-qiyāmah

And let not those who are niggardly with respect to what Allah has given them out of His bounty think that it is good for them; on the contrary it is bad for them. Soon that for which they were niggardly shall be their necklace on the Day of Resurrection. And only Allah is the Heir of heavens and earth and Allah is aware of your doings.

Qurʼan 3:180, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

On hoarding gold and silver

يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْٓا اِنَّ كَثِيْرًا مِّنَ الْاَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَاْكُلُوْنَ اَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّوْنَ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِؕ وَالَّذِيْنَ يَكْنِزُوْنَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنْفِقُوْنَهَا فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِۙ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ اَلِيْمٍ ۝٣٤ۙ

Wa'lladhīna yaknizūna'dh-dhahaba wa'l-fiḍḍata wa lā yunfiqūnahā fī sabīli'llāhi fabashshirhum bi-ʿadhābin alīm

'O believers! Verily many of the priests and monks devour the wealth of the people wrongfully and bar from the path of Allah. And those who hoard up gold and silver and spend not in the path of Allah give them the good tidings of a painful torment.

Qurʼan 9:34, At-Tawbah, from Zujajah.org

What happens to what was hoarded

يَّوْمَ يُحْمٰي عَلَيْهَا فِيْ نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوٰي بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوْبُهُمْ وَظُهُوْرُهُمْؕ هٰذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِاَنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوْقُوْا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنِزُوْنَ ۝٣٥

Yawma yuḥmā ʿalayhā fī nāri jahannama fatukwā bihā jibāhuhum wa junūbuhum wa ẓuhūruhum, hādhā mā kanaztum li-anfusikum fa-dhūqū mā kuntum taknizūn

The day when they shall be heated in the fire of the Hell, then their foreheads and sides and backs shall be branded therewith. This is what you had hoarded for yourselves, now taste the hoarding.

Qurʼan 9:35, At-Tawbah, from Zujajah.org

Just as the warnings are severe, the promises to those who give Zakat are great: reward, mercy, success and victory.

A great reward promised

لٰكِنِ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُو͏ٔ͏ْمِنُوْنَ يُو͏ٔ͏ْمِنُوْنَ بِمَا͏ٓ اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْكَ وَمَا͏ٓ اُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَالْمُقِيْمِيْنَ الصَّلٰوةَ وَالْمُو͏ٔ͏ْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَالْمُو͏ٔ͏ْمِنُوْنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْاٰخِرِؕ اُولٰ࢜ىِٕكَ سَنُو͏ٔ͏ْتِيْهِمْ اَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا ۝١٦٢ࣖ

Wa'l-muqīmīna'ṣ-ṣalāta wa'l-muʾtūna'z-zakāta wa'l-muʾminūna billāhi wa'l-yawmi'l-ākhiri ulāʾika sanuʾtīhim ajran ʿaẓīmā

Yes, but those of them who are firm in knowledge and believe, they believe in that which (O beloved prophet) has been sent down to you and that which was sent down before you, and the establishers of prayer and giver of poor due (Zakat) and the believers in Allah and the Last Day, to such, We shall soon give a great reward.

Qurʼan 4:162, An-Nisa, from Zujajah.org

Allah’s mercy decreed for those who give zakat

وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِيْ هٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَّفِي الْاٰخِرَةِ اِنَّا هُدْنَا͏ٓ اِلَيْكَؕ قَالَ عَذَابِيْٓ اُصِيْبُ بِهٖ مَنْ اَشَا࢜ءُۚ وَرَحْمَتِيْ وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍؕ فَسَاَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِيْنَ يَتَّقُوْنَ وَيُو͏ٔ͏ْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ بِاٰيٰتِنَا يُو͏ٔ͏ْمِنُوْنَ ۝١٥٦ۚ

Wa raḥmatī wasiʿat kulla shayʾin fasa-aktubuhā lilladhīna yattaqūna wa yuʾtūna'z-zakāta wa'lladhīna yuʾminūna bi-āyātinā

And prescribe for us in this world good and in the Hereafter, no doubt, we have returned to You. He said, 'My punishment, I inflict whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things. Then soon I shall prescribe it for those who fear God and pay the poor due and believe in Our Signs.

Qurʼan 7:156, Al-A'raf, from Zujajah.org

The believers who succeed

قَدْ اَفْلَحَ الْمُو͏ٔ͏ْمِنُوْنَ ۝١ۙ

Qad aflaḥa'l-muʾminūn, alladhīna hum fī ṣalātihim khāshiʿūn, wa'lladhīna hum ʿani'l-laghwi muʿriḍūn, wa'lladhīna hum li'z-zakāti fāʿilūn

Undoubtedly, the believers reached to their goal.

Qurʼan 23:1, Al-Mu'minun, from Zujajah.org

Zakah is the third pillar of Islam, some scholars count prayer as the first pillar after faith and Zakah as the second, and stands, after Salah, at the highest point of emphasis in the Shariah. The Qur'an pairs Zakah with Salah in more than thirty places and mentions it separately besides; hadith likewise binds the two together repeatedly, Zakah drawing its status from its association with the pivotal act of worship.

Lexically, Zakah denotes purification, blessing (barakah) and growth. As a term of Shariah it is the obligation of transferring ownership of a specific, Shariah-fixed portion of wealth to a poor Muslim who is neither a Sayyid nor a lawful slave, the giver’s intention being a precondition as in other acts of worship. It purifies the wealth that remains with the payer, brings blessing, increases wealth in this world, and Allah rewards it tenfold or more in the Hereafter, hence the name.