Transcript Islamic charities

3. Zakah
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The Pillars
of Islam
Again this, the third pillar of Islam is difficult
to translate. It is not the same as ordinary
spontaneous charity such as we may
donate to on the street. In Islam this form of
charity is called “Sadaqah”.
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In Arabic, Zakah means “to purify”, and this tells us a
lot about the symbolism behind this Pillar.
But first we start with the Muslim view of the world.
They believe that Allah has
created everything in the
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universe, and as such
belongs
to Him, including the
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material possessions which we may think that we
“own”.
To a Muslim all these are gifts from Allah, and on
temporary loan from Him.
It is therefore unsurprising then that Muslims
consider the sharing of these gifts from Allah to be
a duty of their religion.
In this way having wealth is not a problem for
Muslims because it provides an extra opportunity
to help a fellow Muslim.
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Members of the “Red
Crescent” donating
aid paid for with
Zakah donations to
the Tsunami victims
Zakah itself takes the form of:
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2.5% of one’s total assets,
and is paid voluntarily, usually on the day of Eid
ul Fitr, and only if the family can afford to feed
themselves first.
Zakah is not intended to bankrupt families!
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In large Muslim countries Zakah is collected with
the other taxes e.g. Pakistan, although it is NOT
compulsory!
In Britain it may be organised by the Mosque, or
individual families can donate to Islamic charities
e.g. The Red Crescent.
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The Red Crescent is a
branch of the Red Cross
and operates in mainly
Muslim countries. Visit their
website here
Muslims do not consider the only beneficiaries of
Zakah to be the poor, but it gives the wealthy in
society the opportunity to share their blessing and
so purify themselves in the eyes of Allah.
Look at western society and you will see the megarich donating vast sums to charity.
Bill Gates has been largely responsible for paying
drug companies to research Malaria cures. Click
here
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