This Religion Is a Science 147who is unable to perform them for any justifiable reason; if one
wishes, missed salats can always be made up at a later time.
The second Pillar was also established in the early years of
Muhammad’s movement in Mecca. This is the paying of alms, or
zakat. As previously explained, zakat is alms given as a tax to the com-
munity, which is then distributed to the poor to ensure their care and
protection. It is not a voluntary tithe; it is a religious obligation. Zakat
literally means “purification,” and it is a reminder to all Muslims of
their social and economic responsibilities to the Ummah. Of course,
zakat is paid only by those who can afford to do so; otherwise, one
would receive zakat.
As the Ummah developed into an empire, zakat transformed from
an obligatory almsgiving to a sort of state tax levied on all Muslims (as
mentioned earlier, non-Muslims, such as Christians and Jews, paid a
wholly separate “protection tax” called jizya). During the height of the
Caliphate, it was common practice to use zakat to fund the army—a
practice that caused an uproar from many in the Muslim community.
With the end of the Caliphal period and the rise of the modern
nation-state, Muslim governments increasingly took upon themselves
the role of collecting and distributing zakat. Indeed, the payment of
zakat, though deliberately differentiated from regular state taxes, has
become mandatory in a number of Muslim countries including Pa-
kistan, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, the latter of which imposes
zakat on both individuals and businesses. However, most Muslims
continue the traditional practice of paying zakat individually to their
local mosque or religious institution, which then distributes the funds
to the neediest members of the community.
The third Pillar, the month-long Muslim fast (sawm in Arabic)
which takes place during Ramadan, was not firmly instituted as a Mus-
lim ritual until after the emigration to Medina. Considering that the
concept of fasting was thoroughly foreign to the Bedouin experi-
ence—it would have been absurd to go voluntarily without food or
water in a desert climate—there can be no doubt that Muhammad
adopted this ritual from Arabia’s Jews. The Quran admits as much
when it states “Fasting is prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for
those before you” (2:183; emphasis added). And al-Tabari notes that the
first Muslim fast coincided with Yom Kippur; Muhammad specifically