This Ramadan, direct your Zakat to where it’s needed most. Alkhidmat has several high-impact causes or projects that are eligible for Zakat. 

From raising orphans, delivering disaster relief and arranging microfinance, to providing affordable education, healthcare, clean water and more, Alkhidmat’s welfare efforts touch every facet of human life. Besides, we have a number of other initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty, malnutrition and other forms of deprivation among the underprivileged in society. 

As the third of the five pillars of Islam, just after Belief and establishment of Prayer, Zakat is a religious duty upon all Muslims who meet the necessary threshold of wealth (nisaab) to purify it by helping the needy. The underlying principle of Zakat is that our wealth belongs to Allah, entrusted to us by Him, and therefore meant to be spent and purified according to His guidance and rules. 

The small percentage of our yearly savings that is payable as Zakat is deemed as extra to our needs, and therefore more fit to be used by our less fortunate Muslim brethren rather than remaining unused. From a purely economic perspective, Zakat is a divine method of wealth circulation, poverty alleviation and creating a more equitable society where no one goes without food, water, healthcare, shelter or other basic necessities of life.

Remember that Zakat differs from ordinary, everyday Sadaqah (charity) by its obligatory nature. Another difference is that unlike Sadaqah, it can only be paid into any of eight well-defined causes which are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. 

There are clear principles of Zakat calculation such as that on cash, gold, property, goods-in-trade, agricultural output and so on, but we will not get into technicalities here.

Rest assured that your Zakat payment will be directed only to a Zakat-eligible cause, and not to any other.