Zakat: Mandatory Charity

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. Spending in charity and doing kind acts during the month of Ramadan is more virtuous than during any other month.
Zakat is a certain amount of wealth and property that a muslim has to pay yearly for the benefit of the poor. Every muslim with a certain amount of wealth must pay zakat. It purifies one’s wealth. If you are not sure how much you have to pay, ask your Imam.
“And those who hoard up gold and silver (zakat of which has not been paid) and spend them not in the way of Allah, announce unto them a painful torment. On the day when that wealth will be heated in the fire of Hell and with it will be branded on their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, (and it will be said unto them): This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourself. Now taste of what you used to hoard.” [9:34-35]
The Recipients of Zakat
 As mentioned in the Quran, the recipients of zakat fall within eight groups of people:
  1. Zakat for the poor
  2. Zakat for the needy who do not beg
  3. To attract the hearts of those who have been inclined towards Islam
  4. To free the captives
  5. For those in debt
  6. For Allah’s cause: those fighting in war for the cause of Islam
  7. To a traveler who is cut off from everything, and
  8. Those employed to collect funds for the above
And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allah has bestowed on them of His bounty (wealth) think that it is good for them; the things which they covetously withheld (Zakat) shall be tied to their necks like a color on the Day of Resurrection.” [3:180]