1. Importance of Zakāt
“Zakāt” literally means “purity; justness; integrity and honesty”. In
Islamiclegalterminology,theword“zakāt”isusedforoneofthemain
obligatorytaxesimposeduponthewealthoftheMuslimsderivedfrom
thenaturalresourcesgiventothembyAllah.Itsliteralmeaningimplies
thatbypayingzakāt,oneispurifyinghiswealthbysharingGod'sbless-
ing with the lessfortunate members of the ummah.The wealth of the
personwhodoesnotpayzakātisimpureandtaintedwiththeshareof
the poor and the needy.
Oneofthewaysbywhichwedescribethevalueofaseeminglysimple
thing is by comparing it to an item well known for its value. In the
Qur'ān,Allah,subhanahuwata`ala,alsousesthismethodofemphasizing
certainIslamicvalues:wheneverHewantstoshowtheimportanceofan
issue,He combinesitwithsomethingwhoseimportanceiswellknown
totheMuslims.Salāt,thesymbolofAllah'srightuponhumanbeings,is
awellknownvirtueinIslam;itisknown as“thepillarofthereligion”.
Similarly,Allahhasusedzakātasthesymboloftherightsofhumanbe-
ingsuponeachother.In ordertoshow theimportanceof fulfillingthe
rightsoffellowhumanbeings,inmanyverses,Allahhascombinedthe
order of salāt with the order of paying zakāt.
All items of zakāt are related to the natural resources of the earth.
TheyarenotthecreationofmanbutblessingsofAllah.Sobypayingza-
kāt,wethankAllahbysharingHisblessingswithotherhumanbeings;
andwealsoshowourconcernforthepoorandtheneedy.Imam‘Alibin
Abi Tālib (a.s.) said,
“AlmightyAllāh has madethe zakāt obligatorysothat He may test
the richpeopleandprovideforthe poor.Ifthe peoplepay zakātfrom
their wealth, no one would be poor any longer... ”