Holy Prophet of Islam - Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa — Page 238
238 sa. The Holy Prophet of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa وَ اَقِيْمُوا الصَّلوةَ وَ ْأتُوا الزَّكُوةَ وَ أَطِيْعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ) wa aqimuṣṣalata wa atuzzakāta wa afi'urrasula la‘allakum turhamūn. And observe Prayer and give the Zakāt and obey the Messenger, that you may be shown mercy (24:57). The Holy Qur'ān further says about Zakāt. وَمَا أَتَيْتُمْ مِنْ زَكُوةٍ تُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ فَأُولَبِكَ هُم الْمُضْعِفُوْنَ ) wa ma ataitummin zakatin turīdūna wajhallahi fa uſa'ika humul muḍʻifun. But whatever you give in Zakāt seeking the favor of Allāh -- it is these who will increase their wealth manifold (30:40). Apart from meeting the demands of the State, this collection is intended to meet the needs of the poor. It is collected from Muslims possessing a certain amount of money or property, and is spent on the poor, the needy, the orphans, widows and wayfarers, etc. It is normally levied at 2. 5% on disposable assets above specific thresholds which have remained in the hands of owners beyond one year. One of the many benefits of Zakat is that due to the fear that any idle capital would be gradually eroded away through the imposition of Zakāt, every one with surplus savings would be encouraged to employ it in earning profit to off-set the effect of Zakat.