God knows believers cannot always meditate through the night and allows for illness, travel, and striving, so they read what they can of the Quran, observe the contact prayers, and give the obligatory charity.1, 2, 3, 4
The specified portion believers set aside for the poor and needy is 2.5 percent of net income, and giving at least that is the criterion.1, 2, 3
Giving zakat is not popular, and those who give it anonymously really believe in God.1
Charities go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, new converts, and the freeing of slaves, and the recipients have to be poor.1, 2, 3
God's mercy is restricted to the righteous who give zakat, according to a Quranic verse.1
Keeping income without taking out the zakat is a gross crime, so rather than delaying to accumulate a larger amount, one should give it in advance.1, 2, 3
Zakat is two and a half percent of net income, given on the day you receive it, as 6:141 commands, no matter how small.1, 2, 3
Zakat must be given on the day income is received, to parents, then relatives, then orphans, not once a year as two and a half percent of savings.1, 2, 3, 4
Believers set aside two and a half percent of their net income for the poor and the needy.1
The criterion for charity is whether a person gives at least two and a half percent of his money to the poor, not public showing off.1, 2, 3
Zakat goes first to your parents if they are poor, then to poor relatives; charities go to the poor, the needy, collectors, new converts, freeing slaves, the burdened, God's cause, and the traveling alien.1, 2, 3, 4
Zakat may be given to a disbelieving relative who is not actively fighting you, since helping him may lead him to believe.1, 2, 3
Paying zakat yearly on the same savings is not fair; according to the Quran, once purified the money is yours and needs no further zakat.1, 2, 3
Zakat is given on the day of harvest, meaning any time you receive income, by giving away two and a half percent immediately.1, 2, 3, 4
Zakat requires intention: you must be aware that you are setting aside a portion of your income to give as zakat, just as prayer requires intention.1, 2, 3, 4
Charity is best given through personal knowledge of people in need, which is why God gives the sequence of parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy.1, 2, 3
God repeats the command of charity throughout the Quran because He knows people tend to neglect and forget it, even when they keep the five daily prayers.1, 2
The Quranic system of Zakat starts with your own family and then goes further, while giving to charitable organizations is fine but should not be counted as Zakat.1, 2, 3
The Quran sets an order of priority for zakat recipients: parents first, then relatives, orphans, the traveling alien, the poor, and beggars.1, 2, 3
Zakat must go to people you personally know are in need, so taxes cannot count as zakat.1, 2, 3
Zakat, a pillar of Islam, is 2.5 percent of net income given immediately whenever money is received, not 2.5 percent of year old savings once a year.1, 2, 3, 4
The other four pillars, Salat, Zakat, Hajj, and fasting, are mentioned in the Quran 114 times, and the sura and verse numbers where they occur add up to multiples of 19.1, 2, 3, 4
Fasting Ramadan exercises the soul by denying the body food and drink, and zakat means taking money the body loves and giving it to the poor.1, 2, 3
Per 6:141, zakat is due on the day of harvest, which for wage earners means giving two and a half percent of net income when received, not yearly on savings.1, 2, 3
Zakat goes to people you personally know are in need, in the Quran's order: parents, then relatives, then orphans, then any poor person, then traveling aliens.1, 2, 3, 4
Giving zakat purifies one's income, since about two and a half percent of earnings is likely illicit.1, 2
Zakat goes to people you know personally, in the order of parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy.1, 2
Zakat is done wrong in the Muslim world; per 6:141 it is due on the day of harvest, which for wage earners is the day the paycheck arrives.1, 2, 3
Zakat is two and a half percent of net income, given immediately because the needy cannot wait a year, though small amounts may be accumulated for no more than a month.1, 2, 3
Every Muslim must observe the contact prayer and fast Ramadan, rich or poor, while Zakat is only for the rich and not every Muslim performs Hajj, which the numbers reflect.1, 2, 3
Quran 6:141 commands that zakat be given on the day of harvest, and since people today harvest paychecks, zakat is due on the day money is received so the hungry need not wait a year.1, 2, 3, 4
Zakat is given as soon as any income is received, and the common Muslim practice of giving it once a year on savings is wrong.1, 2, 3