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Zakah

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Zakah

Zakah or Zakat (Arabic: زكاة) is the Islamic charity tax. Muslims must pay 2.5% of their wealth to specified categories of poor people if their annual wealth exceeds a minimum level (nisab). Zakāt is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The categories who receive this charity according to Sunni practice include:

  • The poor (those who do not have enough to cover their basic needs. This includes anyone of any religion or race)
  • The destitute (those with no property or income at all)
  • The collectors
  • People whose hearts are to be reconciled with Islam (Normally new Muslims or those close to becoming Muslim)
  • Freeing slaves
  • Debtors (to help those heavily indebted with paying their debts)
  • "In the Way of Allah" ( helping those fighting [jihad])
  • Travelers who find themselves in difficult circumstances

Shia Muslims have a different interpretation of Zakah, and a separate charity consisting of one fifth of earnings, the Khoms. The  Zakat, according to the Shia, is a tax on specific goods:  gold, silver, camels, cows, sheep, wheat, barley, dates, and raisins. Each type has its own "nisab," or a limit under which Zakat need not be paid.


Synonyms and alternate spellings: Zakah, Zakat,

Further Information:   


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Encyclopedia of the Middle East

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Pronunciation - Arabic and Hebrew vowels are pronounced differently than in English. "o" is very short. The "a" is usually pronounced like the "a" in market, sometimes as the "a" in "Arafat."  The " 'A " is guttural.  " 'H "- the 'het ('Hirbeh, 'Hebron, 'Hisbollah') designates a sound somewhat similar to the ch in "loch" in Scots pronunciation, but made by touching the back of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The CH should be pronounced like Loch, a more assertive consonant than 'het.

The "Gh" combination, and sometimes the "G," designate a deep guttural sound that Westerners may hear approximately as "r." The "r" sound is always formed with the back of the tongue, and is not like the English "r."

More information: Hebrew, Arabic

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