Zakah means to grow and to increase.

When it is said about a person, it means to improve, to become better.



Consequently zakah is blessing, growth, cleanliness, and betterment.



In Shari'ah the word zakah refers to the determined share of wealth prescribed by God to be distributed among deserving categories.



It is also used to mean the action of payment of this share.



The Main Differences between Zakah in Islam and Zakah in Other Religions



Firstly, zakah in Islam is not a mere charity left to the righteousness of individuals, as part of their good deeds. It is rather an essential pillar of this religion, one of its major rituals and the second of its main four forms of worship. Not paying it is like going astray. He who denies its obligation is considered disbeliever. It is an obligation supported by the ethical values of Islam as well as by the power of law in the Islamic state.


Secondly, zakah is a right to the poor in the wealth of the rich, a right decided by the true Owner of wealth, God and imposed on those who have been given control of that wealth by Him.

Zakah thus does not humble or humiliate the receiver nor does it make the rich get a higher rank, ethically or socially.

Thirdly, zakah is a recognized and defined due, determined by Shari'ah so that Muslims may know with clarity the ratios, conditions, and exemptions of this due.

Fourthly, the Islamic state is charged with the responsibility of collecting zakah and distributing it. Zakah is in this respect like a tax that must be collected and not like a contribution that is granted. The Quran states: {Take out of their wealth sadaqah} and the Sunnah says: "to be taken from the rich".

Fifthly, the state has the right to penalize that who refuses to pay zakah. This penalty may include a fine of as much as half the assets as mentioned in the saying, "we shall take it along with half the wealth of the rejecter".

Sixthly, any group of people that thinks of using force in resisting the payment of zakah would be fought by the Islamic government. War is declared on them until they accept to pay the due on their wealth, imposed by God, to the poor.

Seventhly, the individual Muslim is called upon to establish this essential obligation of Islam even if the state does not collect it, since the payment of zakah is in itself a worship that a Muslim offers to his Lord. If the government does not require its collection, it is required by the faith and by the Quran. Each Muslim should know of all the rulings of zakah so he or she may pay it according to the conditions stipulated in Shari'ah.

Eighthly, the proceeds of zakah are not left to government or to religious leaders or priests to determine their distribution. The distribution of zakah and the deserving categories are determined in this religion in the verse {sadaqat are only for the poor, the needy,...}

zakah is not merely temporary relief to the immediate needs of the poor and to attenuate his misery, leaving him in the long run to his poverty
The Sunnah brought the details of distribution. It is known from human experience that righteousness is not achieved by merely collecting the right dues. The disbursement of the proceeds is even more important, so Prophet Muhammad announced that neither he nor any member of his family and descendents were allowed to take any part of the proceeds of zakah. Zakah is taken from the rich in every area and rendered to the poor in that same area.

Ninthly, zakah is not merely temporary relief to the immediate needs of the poor and to attenuate his misery, leaving him in the long run to his poverty. Zakah aims at eliminating poverty and making the poor at least self sufficient, helping them with sufficient financial means to enable them to work and produce for their own sustenance, zakah is a periodical due repeated each year, aimed at raising the level of living of the poor.

Tenthly, zakah in its disbursement aims at achieving several spiritual, moral, social, and political purposes. For that reason, it may be spent for the reconciliation of hearts, for the liberation of slaves, for those who are in debt, and for the sake of God in the widest meaning of the word.

With these characteristics of zakah that are so distinct from alms in other religions, we realize that zakah is an institution unique in its characteristics and features. It is different from taxes and other dues in as much as it is different from alms known in other religions

http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-islam/research-studies/comparative-religion/462246-differences-of-zakah-in-islam-and-other-religions.html

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