<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="color:#c0392b">The third pillar of Islam, the compulsory charity or zakat, the spiritual dimensions of zakat and charity, and how Islam views money in general.<br />
Charity is not just recommended by Islam, it is required of every financially stable Muslim. Giving charity to those who deserve it is part of Muslim character and one of the Five Pillars of Islamic practice. Zakat is viewed as &quot;compulsory charity&quot;; it is an obligation for those who have received their wealth from God to respond to those members of the community in need. Devoid of sentiments of universal love, some people know only to hoard wealth and to add to it by lending it out on interest. Islam&rsquo;s teachings are the very antithesis of this attitude. Islam encourages the sharing of wealth with others and helps people to stand on their own and become productive the society. members of</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="color:#c0392b">In&nbsp;Arabic,&nbsp;it is known as zakat which literally means &quot;purification&quot;,&nbsp;because zakat is considered to purify one&rsquo;s heart of greed. Love of wealth is natural and it takes&nbsp;firm&nbsp;belief in God for a person to part with some of his wealth. Zakat must be paid on different categories of property &mdash; gold, silver, money; livestock; agricultural produce; and business commodities &mdash; and is payable each year after one year&rsquo;s possession. It requires an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of an individual&rsquo;s wealth and assets.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="color:#c0392b">Like prayer, which is both an individual and communal responsibility, zakat expresses a Muslim&rsquo;s worship of and thanksgiving to God by supporting those in need. In Islam, the true owner of things is not&nbsp;man, but God. Acquisition of wealth for its own sake, or so that it may increase a man&rsquo;s worth, is condemned. Mere acquisition of wealth counts for nothing in the sight of God. It does not give a&nbsp;man&nbsp;any merit in this life or in the hereafter. Islam teaches that people should acquire wealth with the intention of spending it on their own needs and the needs of others.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="color:#c0392b">&quot;&lsquo;Man&rsquo;, said the Prophet, &lsquo;says: My wealth! &nbsp;My wealth!&rsquo; &nbsp;Have you not any wealth except that which you give as alms and thus &nbsp; preserve, wear and tatter, eat and use up?&quot;<br />
The whole concept of wealth is considered in Islam as a gift from God. &nbsp;God, who provided it to the person, made a portion of it for the poor, so the poor have a right over one&rsquo;s wealth. &nbsp;Zakat reminds Muslims that everything they have belongs to God. &nbsp;People are given their wealth as a trust from God, and zakat is intended to free Muslims from the love of money. &nbsp;The money paid in zakat is not something God needs or receives. &nbsp;He is above any type of dependency. &nbsp;God, in His boundless mercy, promises rewards for helping those in need with one&nbsp;basic that&nbsp;condition&nbsp;zakat&nbsp;be paid in the name of God; one should not expect or demand any worldly gains from the beneficiaries nor aim at making one&rsquo;s name as a philanthropist. &nbsp;The feelings of a beneficiary should not be hurt by making him feel inferior or reminding him of the assistance.</span></span></p>

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