Tithe - Islam

Islam

Zakāt (Arabic: زكاة‎, sometimes "Zakāt") or "alms giving", one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a small percentage of one's income to charity. It serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and deprived Muslims, although others may have a rightful share. It is the duty of an Islamic state not just to collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well. Another mechanism for voluntary charity and support for religious organization in the Islamic States (in the old days) was to take one-tenth of the income or product, which is called ushar (1/10th in Arabic) and give it to a Mosque. To date this ushar strictly goes to the local mosques in Islamic countries, such as Afghanistan and the most qualified person for the ushar is considered to be the Imam and his students (Talib). In most villages the Imam gets the ushar from the landowners and sometimes it amounts to large sum of money. In other words, the idea of ushar in Islam is a direct continuation of the Judaeo-Christian idea of tethi or 1/10th. In fact, during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the government (who also considered themselves as protector of the state as well as religious students) collected the ushar from the people in villages and towns, thus reviving an old tradition of alms giving in the Islamic States of the past.

Zakat is payable on three kinds of assets: wealth, production, and animals. The more well-known zakat on wealth is 2.5% of accumulated wealth, beyond one's personal needs. Production (agricultural, industrial, renting, etc.), is subject to a 10% or 5% zakat (also known as Usher, or "one-tenth"), using the rule that if both labor and capital are involved, 5% rate is applied, if only one of the two are used for production, then the rate is 10%. For any earnings, that require neither labor nor capital, like finding underground treasure, the rate is 20%. The rules for zakat on animal holdings are specified by the type of animal group and tend to be fairly detailed.

Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth. Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as performing the five-daily repetitive ritualised prayer (salat). Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future business. In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich. Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe. In the 2nd edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam it states, "...the prayers of those who do not pay zakat will not be accepted". This is because without Zakat a tremendous hardship is placed on the poor which otherwise would not be there. Besides the fear of their prayers not getting heard, those who are able should be practicing this third pillar of Islam because the Quran states that this is what believers should do.