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What is the Islamic Understanding of Charity?

Todd Green, Ph.D. Luther College

Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, has a long history of emphasizing the importance of helping the poor and destitute. One can even argue that charity is more central to Islam than the other two Abrahamic traditions.

Zakat, or almsgiving, constitutes one of the five pillars of Islam. It is incumbent on all Muslims with financial and material means to set aside 2.5% of their net worth (and not just their net income) for zakat. In calculating one’s net worth, items such as clothing, household items, personal automobiles, and residential homes are excluded.

To non‐Muslims, zakat can appear to be a simple financial transaction, something to check off a list of do’s and don’ts. But for many practicing Muslims, the concept entails much more. It is a recognition that all wealth and material possessions are entrusted to humanity by God. Human beings must therefore be responsible stewards of what God has given them. Zakat orients Muslims to the needs of their fellow human beings and thereby works against the human tendency toward greed and hoarding wealth. Put simply, the heart of zakat is a concern for social and economic justice.

The origins of zakat are in the Qur’an, where we read of the favor one receives from God when giving alms:

Give the family its due, and the poor, and the traveler – that is better for those who desire the face of God, and those – they are the ones who prosper. Whatever you give in usury, in order that it may increase on the wealth of the people, does not increase with God, but what you give in alms, desiring the face of God – those are the ones who gain double (Q. 30:38‐39).

The Qur’an adds that zakat does not always entail giving something of material value. For example, those who lack financial means can offer instead “rightful words and forgiveness” (Q: 2:263).

The beneficiaries of zakat are also spelled out in the Qur’an:

Freewill offerings are only for the poor and the needy, and the ones who collect it, and the ones whose hearts are united, and for the ransoming of slaves, and the relief of debtors, and for the way of God, and the traveler (Q. 9:60).

For much of Islamic history, governments collected zakat, and officials distributed it to those who qualified to receive it. In modern history, with the influence of Western colonialism on Muslim‐majority countries and their governments, the state‐sponsored collection of zakat waned. Today, only a handful of Muslim‐majority countries have some form obligatory zakat tax, including Pakistan, the Sudan, Malaysia, and Yemen.

In many Muslim‐majority countries, zakat is an individual responsibility. Muslims wishing to make zakat donations often do so at mosques or other social or charitable organizations. This is also true in the United States, where organizations such as the Islamic Society of North America, among others, collect zakat donations.

One point of controversy over zakat in the United States since 9/11 involves concerns from the federal government and intelligence agencies that some of the funds from Muslim charities might end up in the hands of terrorists, even if that is not the intent of those who donate. In the aftermath of 9/11, some Muslim charities had their assets frozen while others were shut down. These actions had a detrimental effect on zakat donations as Muslim

Americans feared that fulfilling their Islamic obligation might invite suspicion, if not investigation, from government authorities.

In recent years, civil liberties organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have increased their efforts to challenge laws and policies that make zakat giving difficult, arguing that it is possible to wage a battle against terrorism without sacrificing the First Amendment rights of Muslim Americans. Despite these ongoing challenges, Muslim Americans are persisting in their efforts to support charitable organizations that provide natural disaster relief assistance, distribute clean water, sponsor food pantries, offer health care for the poor, and maintain shelters for victims of domestic abuse.

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Rolf Jacobson

Professor of Old Testament & Alvin N. Rogness Chair in Scripture, Theology and Ministry
Luther Seminary

Our New Neighbors and Charity

God has given us new neighbors to love and to bless. In fact, God is always giving us new neighbors to love and bless. Because of the intense media coverage of the violence perpetrated by Muslim extremists, most Christians do not realize that charity is a central tenet of Islam. It makes one wonder, doesn’t it? What if there were stories every day on the television about the charitable actions of Muslims? For that matter, what if there were television segments every day covering the charitable actions of Christians and Jews?

Whenever God gives us new neighbors to love and bless, God calls on us to get to know and understand them. Because Christians and Muslims both practice charity, conversations about charity would be a great place for Muslims and Christians to get to know each other.

A Kinship‐Based Society: The Family and the Family‐less.

Professor Green cites a text from the Qur’an that lays out the origins of the Muslim practice of charity: “Give the family its due, and the poor, and the traveler . . .” (Q. 30:38).

Notice here that the target of a godly person’s generosity is, first, on the extended “family” system in which a person lives and, second, on the “poor” and the “traveler.”

The ancient societies of Israel and Islam were kinship‐based societies. In kinship‐based societies, one’s extended family is more than merely a set of people to whom one is genetically related. The welfare of extended family is the purpose for which one lives and works. The extended family is also one’s social safety net. When a person got sick, or was injured, or fell into debt, or experienced some sort of crisis, the extended family was expected to come to the rescue.

When the Qur’an says one must “give the family its due,” it is speaking of the extended kinship family group to which one belongs. But in kinship‐ based societies, there are also people who have no family to which they belong, and so they have no family to come to the rescue if one experiences a severe crisis. The “poor” and the “traveler” in the above Qur’an text refer to these “family‐less” people.

When the Qur’an says “give the family its due, and the poor, and the traveler,” it is saying that a godly person owes generosity to his or her own family system and also to those who do not have a family.

To put it succinctly, charity is to be given to the family and to the family‐ less.

The Common Old Testament Roots of Christian and Muslim Charity

Notice the similarities regarding the focus on the “family” and the “family‐ less” in these Old Testament passages:

Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake (Deuteronomy 14:28‐29).

When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns, when you shall say before the LORD your God: “I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me (Deuteronomy 26:12‐13).

The ones to whom the “tithe” (which means 10%) is to be given is a trio of “family‐less” people: “the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows.” (The tithe was also shared with the Levites—the priestly tribe who could not own any land and therefore depended upon the offerings of the faithful.)

Throughout history, the governments in majority Islamic countries collected the charitable zakat obligations—as there was no separation between religion and state. It should be noted that in the ancient Israel, this was also the case. The annual tithe was part of one’s duty to the government (and the religion was part of the government).

Where Does One’s Charitable Giving Go?

Professor Green notes that there has been some controversy in the last fifteen years concerning the reality that some charitable zakat giving has ended up in the hands of extremists.

The principle at stake here is important for Christians to think over, too. Throughout history, some Christian organizations have been poor stewards of charitable contributions. Money “given to God” has been at times misspent, or wasted, or simply used ineffectively. In other cases, the leadership of a charitable institution changes and contributed money starts to be used for a set of values that are different from what contributors thought they were supporting.

This reality has led some Christians to be much more intentional about where and how they share their charitable gifts. In response, some religious charities have become more transparent about their operations and more efficient in meeting their mission.

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Muslim tradition requires a 2.5% zakat contribution annually. How do you think about sharing your wealth? Do you think about giving a percentage of your ongoing income? Do you think about giving a portion of your estate to charity when you die?  How has your church affected your charitable giving?

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How aware are you of how the institutions you support use your contributions? Do the institutions you support share your values? Are those institutions efficient in using the gifts entrusted to them?

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How does the way you think about your generosity differ or align with what you know of the Islamic practice of zakat?