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Zakat (Tax): Difference between revisions
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Like taxes, zakat is a fard (obligatory) requirement from Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. It is levied on five categories of property—[[food]] grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.<ref name="EBZT"></ref> | Like taxes, zakat is a fard (obligatory) requirement from Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. It is levied on five categories of property—[[food]] grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.<ref name="EBZT"></ref> | ||
The collection and expenditure of this zakat throughout Islam's history has been a function of the state. The compulsory payment was collected and distributed by the state under the Prophet [[Muhammad]], the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s, the later Caliphate, and is even collected and distributed by the state in some theocracies today (for example, [[Saudi Arabia]]).<ref name="EBZT"></ref> Likewise, the beneficiaries of the zakat are generally the less | The collection and expenditure of this zakat throughout Islam's history has been a function of the state. The compulsory payment was collected and distributed by the state under the Prophet [[Muhammad]], the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s, the later Caliphate, and is even collected and distributed by the state in some theocracies today (for example, [[Saudi Arabia]]).<ref name="EBZT"></ref> Likewise, the beneficiaries of the zakat are generally the less wealthy members of the Muslim [[Ummah]] and those who are participating in military conflicts ([[Jihad]]). | ||
Thus a proper understanding of zakat makes it, in all but name, a tax, not a form of charity. And although there no longer remains a global caliphate to enforce this tax on every Muslim, it does not change what it is or how it is viewed, inside and outside of Islam. | Thus a proper understanding of zakat makes it, in all but name, a tax, not a form of charity. And although there no longer remains a global caliphate to enforce this tax on every Muslim, it does not change what it is, for what purpose it was created, or how it is viewed, inside and outside of Islam. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||