Almsgiving (zakat in Arabic) is one of the
Five Pillars of Islam, almsgiving constitutes one of the main means by which Islam strives for an economically just society. It is an obligatory "poor tax"--reckoned at somewhere between two and ten percent of income and holdings--which can be given directly to the poor or to a distribution official. The money is used for hospitals, schools, helping indigent debtors and freeing slaves, as well as poor support. From the perspective of the giver, "zakat" (as it is known in Arabic) purifies the giver and the remainder of his "wealth." It is also envisioned as a loan to
Allah , who will repay it double.
