The obligation for Muslims to give zakat is mentioned several times in the Qur’an, and is usually paired with the command to “establish prayer”. Zakat is like a wealth tax whose observance is one of the five “pillars” of Islam.

It is not a charitable donation but the duty of each Muslim who meets the necessary criteria of surplus wealth. Muslims believe that paying zakat purifies, increases and blesses the remainder of their wealth. Thus Zakat helps the giver as much as the receiver.

The Qur’an (9:60) lists eight categories of potential recipients of Zakat.

Alms are for the poor and the needy, for those who work to administer them, for those whose hearts are to be won over, for those in bondage, for debtors, in the path of God, and for wayfarers.

Projects at the Islamic Human Rights Commission utilises Zakat for various initiatives, to name a few:

• reduce absolute and relative poverty
• help homeless people, refugees and migrants
• support the orphan and the widowed
• pay for medical expenses of the poor and the needy
• support prisoners with their needs
• feed the oppressed in war zones and conflicts