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zakÄt
zakat, an obligatory tax required of Muslims, one of the five Pillars of Islam. The zakat is levied on five categories of propertyâfood grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goodsâand is payable each year after one yearâs possession. The tax levy required by religious law varies with the category. Recipients of the zakat include the poor and needy, the collectors themselves, and âthose whose hearts it is necessary to conciliateââe.g., discordant tribesmen, debtors, volunteers in jihad (holy war), and pilgrims.
Under the caliphates, the collection and expenditure of zakat was a function of the state. In the contemporary Muslim world it has been left up to the individual, except in such countries as Saudi Arabia, where the SharÄ«Êżah (Islamic law) is strictly maintained. Among the IthnÄ ÊżAsharÄ«yah (Twelver ShÄ«Êżites), it is collected and disbursed by the scholars (ÊżulamÄÊŸ), who act as representatives for Muáž„ammad al-MahdÄ« al-Hujjah (the Hidden Imam).
The QurÊŸÄn and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) also stress áčŁadaqah, or voluntary almsgiving, which, like zakat, is intended for the needy. Twelver ShÄ«Êżites, moreover, require payment of an additional one-fifth tax, the khums, to the Hidden Imam and his deputies. It is intended to be spent for the benefit of the imams in addition to orphans, the poor, and travelers.
