SOCIAL WELFARE IN ISLAM

Deducting Zakat from one’s earning is a material acknowledgment of the fact that the actual giver is God. And since the giver is God, the recipient is duty-bound to spend it in His cause. In spirit, Zakat is an act of worship, while in its external form, it is the carrying out of a social service. Zakat is thus not just the payment of a tax, but is of great religious significance. Its importance is underscored by the fact that the Quran treats it on par with Salat (prayer). There are many Hadith that stress the importance of giving Sadaqa in the holy month of Ramazan. Therefore, in this month of fasting, almost all those who can afford it, help poor people in one way or another. The Quran frequently enjoins believers ‘to perform the worship and pay the Zakat', and even goes to the extent of saying that 'one cannot attain righteousness unless one spends out of one’s wealth for the love of God'. It also says: “By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you give of that which you love.” THE QURAN 3: 92 Since charity is purely for the sake of God, it has value only if something good and valuable is given. It should be lawfully earned or acquired by the giver. It should include such things as are of use and value to others. So the test of charity lies in giving away not just things that we have discarded, but things that we greatly value. What God demands is unselfishness. It may be in any form—personal efforts, talents, skills, learning, property or possessions. Charity is, in the words of the Prophet, 'to place a thing in the palm of God'. It is therefore obvious that placing worthless things in the hand of God is a dishonour to Him. The law of Zakat (to take from the wealthy and give to the poor) rotates wealth in such a way as to balance social inequality. But the demand of Islam that all its followers should spend their wealth freely for the common good of society cannot be met solely by the payment of the obligatory levy of Zakat. There must also be additional almsgiving on a voluntary basis. This is referred to in Islamic literature as sadaqat-al-tatawwu (the alms of spontaneity). The only difference between Sadaqa and Zakat is that the former is voluntary, while the latter is obligatory, and collected by the government as a compulsory