Hardly ever is prayer mentioned in the Noble Quran without being
associated with Zakah. Zakah is the inseparable twin of prayer in the
Book of Allah The Almighty and the Sunnah of His messenger, sallAllahu
'alayhi wa sallam, as well. Zakah is like prayer in terms of its
relation to morals. The payer of Zakah offers it out of obedience to
his Lord, abiding by His commands, warding off devils, relieving
oneself from being questioned about the obligation of Zakah on the Day
of Judgment. Zakah increases one's wealth, allows him to help the poor
and needy, protects him from meanness and curbs his sinful desires. It
helps spread an atmosphere of love, intimacy and affection among
Muslims and creates a close bond between the rich and poor within the
Muslim community. The payer of Zakah relishes the pleasure and
satisfaction of the heart as he obeys the commands of Allah The
Exalted. Thus, he is keen not to delay paying the due Zakah and is
diligent in giving it to its eligible recipients. Allah The Exalted
Says )what means(:}Take, ]O, Muhammad[, from their wealth a charity by
which you purify them …{]Quran 9:103[
When Muslims fully grasp this, they find themselves willing not only
to pay the due Zakah, but also to spend in charity according to their
abilities even if this was not obligatory upon them. This renders them
eager to give in charity and help others in all possible ways and it
indicates the purity of their hearts andthe spiritual elevation of
their souls.
The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"Smiling in
the face of your brother is charity, enjoining good and forbidding
evil is charity, guiding a lost man in a foreign land is charity,
guiding the blind is charity, removing harmful things, thorns and
bones from a road is regarded as charity and pouring what is left from
your vessel into that of your brother is charity."
Hence, the close bond between Zakah and morals in Islam becomes clear.
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