Zakah and Khums
Identify one category of people who may receive Zakah, as stated in Qur'an 9:60.
Describe what Zakah is and how it is calculated and distributed.
Explain why Zakah is important for Muslims and for Islamic society.
First point
Make your first point: explain what Zakah is and how its status as a pillar of Islam makes it an act of worship, not merely charity.
Second point
Make your second point: explain how the eight categories listed in Qur'an 9:60 show that Zakah is designed to address the full range of social needs within the community.
Third point
Make your third point: explain how Zakah contributes to a just and equal society by providing a reliable and consistent mechanism for redistributing wealth.
'Zakah is the most socially important of the five pillars of Islam.' Assess this statement. You should refer to the significance of the passage provided, using your own or others' views to support your answer.
Passage: refer to this in your answer
And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry. If only they had been satisfied with what Allah and His Messenger gave them and said, "Sufficient for us is Allah; Allah will give us of His bounty, and [so will] His Messenger; indeed, we are desirous toward Allah," [it would have been better for them]. Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveller – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
Suggested length: 250–350 words
Writing guides
- 1Agree: argue why Zakah, as an obligatory system of wealth redistribution, is the most socially important pillar, using Qur'an 9:60's eight categories of recipients.
- 2Further agree: explain how making charity an act of worship ensures reliable, systematic giving, unlike voluntary charity, which may fluctuate.
- 3Disagree: consider whether Hajj (which builds global Muslim solidarity), Sawm (which develops empathy for the poor) or Salah (which provides daily communal structure) are equally or more socially important.
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