ZAKAT (ALMSGIVING

60. Zakat (Almsgiving) ~ 178 ~ 60. ZAKAT (ALMSGIVING) By zakat is meant that fixed amount which is subtracted at the end of each year by affluent people. In this way the remaining wealth is purified. By one part of it being given to the cause of God, the rest is rendered lawfully usable for the almsgiver. Deducting zakat from one’s earning is a material acknowledgement of the fact that the actual giver is God. Since the giver is God, the recipient is duty bound to spend it in His cause. The law of zakat is to take from those who have wealth and give it away to those who do not. This rotation of wealth is a way to balance social inequality. In this way the wealthy are reminded of what is due from them to those who are less wellfavoured in life or who are totally destitute. Zakat is an important part of the Islamic code of ethics. On the one hand, zakat purifies the giver of feelings like miserliness and selfishness, and