ZAKAH(ZAKAT)

Zakat is one of five pillars of islam ,its aim to meet the social needs of the muslim society
and to improve the economic position in islam
The word zakah means purification ,blessing and increasing .it is a kind of protection of the
wealth of those who are rich.when a muslim pays his zakat he is protecting his money from
unexpected disaster, for the prophet said, protect your prophet by giving zakat and help your
relatives to recover from their illness by giving charity.
Zakat is an obligatory payment, like a tax, and the English translation is poor dues It
could be called a divine tax, for it has been prescribed by god in the holy Quran and in the
sayings of the prophet.the holy Quran says in many places,keep up regular prayer and give
zakat,and one of the sayings of the prophet when Muaz was sent to yemen was, you will Zakat
and that Muhammad is Gods Messenger . If they obey that , tell them that god has made it
obligatory for them to pray five times every twenty four hours. If they obey that, tell them that
God has made it obligatory for them for sadaqa to be taken from the rich and handed over to the
poor. If they obey that, do not take the best part of their property , and have regard to the claim of
him who is wronged, for there is no veil it and God
There are many kinds of zakat : zakat al-fur which Is an obligatory payment by a Muslim
slave or freeman, male or female, young and old, and it should be made before id prayer. It is
usually given from the food of the majority: rice, or grain. The cost of this could be given instead
and it is preferable , in a country like Indonesia, for it to be done by giving money . Nowadays,
one must pay Rp. 1.500.00 for each member of the family , including the servant (if there is a
servant) and ones parents, if one is responsible for them. Ibn Abbas said that God s messenger
prescribed the zakat relating to the breaking of the fast as a purification from empty and obscene
words and as food for the poor.
other kinds of Zakat are zakat al-mal, meaning money zakat, either gold or silver, zakat
al-tijara meaning trade zakat, zakat al-anam meaning cattle zakat, involving camels, cows or
sheep, zakat al-zuru wa al-thammar, meaning cereals and fruit. These last two are of one kind.
For zakat to be compulsory there must be to condition: firstly, that it much reach the nisab and,
secondly, that it must have been owned by the prayer for one complete year (haul).
Islam has prescribed zakat for all kinds of property for the benefit of needy people. It is
not always paid in money but, in some cases, in cattle, cereals and fruit as in Africa and similar
countries. But in more developed countries. Trade and business are the most common ways of
playing zakat and money is used for this purpose. The aim of collecting zakat is to serve
members of society and to meet their needs an help them of overcome the difficulties they are
facing. Some people are in difficulty because they havent the ability to work, some because they
meet with disaster of some kind and some because they are old and need help. Zakat in islam is
the source of security from any hardship for all members of society. Those who have the right to
receive money from zakat are mentioned in the holy Quran.

In case there is nobody who is need of zakat. It will be collected and the head of the
community will spend it for the benefit of the whole, using it for example, for the building of
school, hospital, mosques or other similar things.
By : suryani