Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. The word ‘Zakat’ means purification in Arabic; it purifies our short stint over here and our long run in the hereafter. As elaborated in the definition; Zakat mainly purifies the soul of a human being; moreover it purifies his income as well. This pure act of ritual is mandatory on those who are gifted with wealth, in terms of riches, in this world. Moreover, it benefits the poor and the needy people and protects their dignity. Besides that, the Zakat is also a means of producing Islamic Literature for making propagation of Islam through out the world.
Firstly and formostly, Zakat purifies the soul and it is not a difficult concept to comprehend. By paying Zakat, the individual is able to eliminate the ill feelings present in one’s heart. He gives in the way of Allah from the wealth given by Him to those who deserve. Through this process, he is made capable from The Giver to help the humanity in distress. This good deed helps him, in fact encourages the individual towards a constant practice of helping the humanity. This uplifts his character personally and in the community as well which eventually helps him to eliminate the feelings of egoism, hatred, selfishness, aggression and fury. If the ritual is practiced 'the way it should' by the community who are eligible to pay; they would be empowered to eliminate such drawbacks from our society in a matter of no time.
Secondly, Zakat is also a tool to purify the wealth and the riches of a Muslim. By paying Zakat, the wealth gets purified as it allows blessings to enter in our lives because we follow what Allah has commanded us; the blessing of your wealth to be protected from financial losses and mishaps. Additionally, due to the current financial system, the money of the one earning through the permissible way gets mixed with those who earn through the unacceptable ways. For example, there are countries where the Islamic banking system does not exist. Due to government legislations and policies, people have to secure their money in an interest based banking system which 'contaminates' the wealth of a Muslim. Therefore, Zakat gives the Muslim the opportunity to cleanse his wealth and as said above protect it from losses. But it is highly advisable that he eliminates interest from his savings, and then pays Zakat from the rest.
Thirdly, paying Zakat benefits the poor and the needy people and protects their dignity and uplifts their status in the society. Primarily, paying Zakat to the poor and the needy helps the rich to address the problems associated with the most needy segment of the society. This helps to fix the dwindling and hostile economic indicators to move towards progress, prosperity and most importantly towards stability. This ritual uplifts the standard of the poor and makes them financially secure. Therefore, it protects those in need from begging and other activities which spoil the culture and the social equilibrium in the society.
Lastly, but surely not the least, the Zakat is also a means of producing Islamic Literature for making propagation of Islam through out the world. It is allowed to use the Zakat for the promulgation of Islam and to spread awareness about the Deen. It is a duty of a Muslim to spread the knowledge related to the religion of Islam to those who are unaware. By producing literature through the collection of Zakat, the Muslims are providing the opportunity to the non-Muslims to come towards the path of success and glory. Moreover, religiously weak Muslims, get the source to enlighten their thoughts and increase their knowledge of the religion which is the only source of salvation for those want their final abode to be in heaven.
Therefore, the segment of society which deserves Zakat – needy, extremely poor, those employed to collect, those whose hearts are to be won, to free the captives, those Muslims who are in debt, in the way of Allah & those who are travelling – has this right on their capable Muslim brothers and sisters to help in stabilizing their lives in this world.
The question is: 'If we are paying the Zakat properly, then why have we not been able to eliminate poverty and hunger?'
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