Asalam Alaykum, today I will be writing about Zakat. This is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam (the Pillars are obligatory). All the 5 Pillars of Islam are important, however, Zakat takes the 3rd position when it comes to importance, following Prayers which takes the 2nd position and Declaration of Faith which takes the 1st position. "And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion." Quran, Chapter 98: 5

Zakat is a compulsory alms giving. "Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler -an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." Quran, Chapter 9: 60. This verse tells you who zakat should be given to.

Zakat in literally terms means making pure, in other words, Zakat purifies your wealth for you. It does not purify ill-gotten wealth. It purifies wealth gotten from good sources. Zakat is calculated as 2.5% of your wealth after deducting your living expenses e.t.c. For your wealth to qualify for zakat (for you to pay zakat) your wealth must be above a minimum amount which is known as nisab. Nisab can be either measured by gold or silver. If you are using gold to measure nisab, your wealth must be above the market value of 3 ounces of gold (87.48 grammes).The cash equivalent of the value of 3 ounces of gold is the nisab if you are using gold. However if you want to use silver to calculate the nisab, the nisab will be the market value of 21 ounces of silver (612.36 grammes).

Zakat is due for payment one lunar year after the date your wealth equals or exceeds the nisab. Zakat is payable on cash, gold, livestock, silver and others, a zakat calculator which is available online will guide you when you want to calculate your zakat. The nisab used for livestock is different and will be discussed in another article.

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