Zakat and Sadaqah

1. Zakāt,("that which purifies"),is a form of obligatory alms-giving and religious tax in Islam. It is based on income and the value of all of one's possessions. It is customarily 2.5% of a Muslim's total income, savings and wealth above a minimum amount known as nisab. The collected amount is paid first to zakat collectors, and then to poor Muslims, to new converts to Islam, to Islamic clergy, to those fighting for Islamic causes, and others.Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, mandatory for all Muslims. Zakat is not a voluntary charitable contribution.

The zakat is considered by Muslims to be an act of piety through which one expresses concern for the well-being of fellow Muslims, as well as preserving social harmony between the wealthy and the poor. Zakat promotes a more equitable redistribution of wealth and fosters a sense of solidarity amongst members of the Ummah.

According to the Quran's Surah Al-Tawba, there are eight categories of people (asnaf) who qualify to benefit from zakat funds.

“Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.”— Qur'an, Sura 9 (Al-Tawba), ayat 60.

Scholars have interpreted this verse as identifying the following eight categories of Muslim causes to be the proper recipients of zakat:

1.Those living without means of livelihood (Al-Fuqarā').
2. Those who cannot meet their basic needs (Al-Masākīn).
3. To zakat collectors (Al-Āmilīyn 'Alihā)
4. To persuade those sympathetic to or expected to convert to Islam (Al-Mu'allafatu Qulūbuhum), recent converts to Islam and potential allies in the cause of Islam.
5. To free from slavery or servitude (Fir-Riqāb), slaves of Muslims who have or intend to free from their master by means of a kitabah contract.

6. Those who have incurred overwhelming debts while attempting to satisfy their basic needs (Al-Ghārimīn),debtors who in pursuit of a worthy goal incurred a debt.

7. Those fighting for a religious cause or a cause of God (FīSabīlillāh) or for Jihad in the way of Allah and for Islamic warriors who fight against the unbelievers but are not part of salaried soldiers.

8. Wayfarers, stranded travellers (Ibnu Al-Sabīl), travellers who are traveling on an Islamic goal but cannot reach their destination without financial assistance.

Zakat should not be given to one's own parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, spouses or the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.

Zakat al-Fitr:

Zakat al-Fitr is a mandatory one time alms-giving per person, with any means to pay, that is traditionally paid at the end of the fasting in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The collected amount is used to pay the zakat collectors and to the poor Muslims so that they can be provided with a means with which they can celebrate `Eid al-Fitr (the festival of breaking the fast) along with the rest of the Muslims.

Zakat al Fitr is based on person and is a fixed amount collected, while Zakat al mal is based on the total income and property.

2. Sadaqah or Saddka: ("voluntary charity") is the act of giving out of compassion, love and friendship with the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah.

Quran on Sadaqah:

"The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah's way is as the likeness of a grain which groweth seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. Allah giveth increase manifold to whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing". Al- Qur'an: Surat Al-Baqarah (2:262)

Seest thou one who denies the Judgment (to come)?
Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness),

And encourages not the feeding of the indigent.
So woe to the worshippers
Who are neglectful of their prayers,
Those who (want but) to be seen (of men),
But refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs.
-- Quran, sura 107 (Al-Ma'un), ayat 1-7.

"and spend something (in charity) out of the substance which We have bestowed on you, before Death should come to any of you and he should say, "O my Lord! why didst Thou not give me respite for a little while? I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good".

"But to no soul will Allah grant respite when the time appointed (for it) has come; and Allah is well acquainted with (all) that ye do.— Quran, sura 63 (Al-Munafiqun), ayat 10-11.

Saddka should be given solely out of love for God, out of the desire to do good to His creation, as the Quran says about the righteous:

And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive,-(Saying),"We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.— Quran, sura 76 (Al-Insan), ayat 8-9.

Giving Saddka will not diminish a Muslim's wealth. It serves as expiation for sins and yields rewards in the next life. It is stated in the Quran:

For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward.— .Qur'an, Sura 57 (Al-Hadid), ayah 18.

Hadith on Sadaqah:

In the hadith collected by Abu `Isa Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi in his Jami` at-Tirmidhi

"Saddka extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire." (2541)
"Saddka appeases the Lord’s anger and averts an fire death." (1909)
"The believer's shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his Saddka'." (1925)

In other hadith Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

A woman said: Apostle of Allah, my mother suddenly died; if it had not happened, she would have given sadaqah (charity) and donated (something). Will it suffice if I give sadaqah on her behalf? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Yes, give sadaqah on her behalf.— Abu Dawood, Sunan Abu Dawood.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "There is a (compulsory) Sadaqa (charity) to be given for every joint of the human body (as a sign of gratitude to Allah) every day the sun rises. To judge justly between two persons is regarded as Sadaqa, and to help a man concerning his riding animal by helping him to ride it or by lifting his luggage on to it, is also regarded as Sadaqa, and (saying) a good word is also Sadaqa, and every step taken on one's way to offer the compulsory prayer (in the mosque) is also Sadaqa and to remove a harmful thing from the way is also Sadaqa."— Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari Hammam b. Munabbih reported that-this is out of (those ahadith) which Abu Huraira narrated to us from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). And he while making a mention of ahadith reported from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said this: Sadaqa is due on every joint of a person, every day the sun rises. 

Administering of justice between two men is also a Sadaqa. And assisting a man to ride upon his beast, or helping him load his luggage upon it, is a Sadaqa; and a good word is a Sadaqa; and every step that you take towards prayer is a Sadaqa, and removing of harmful things from the pathway is a Sadaqa.— Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri, Sahih Muslim.

'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Every one of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah, praises Allah, declares Allah to be One, Glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah, and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people's path, and enjoins what is good and forbids from evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty-four, will walk that day having removed himself from Hell.— Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri, Sahih Muslim.

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