Islam

=== Almsgiving ===
{{Main|Zakat}}
{{See also|Sadaqah}}
[[File:Slot at the Zaouia Moulay Idriss II 1.jpg|thumb|A slot for giving zakat at the [[Zawiya of Moulay Idris II]] in [[Fez, Morocco]]]]
[[Zakat]] ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{lang-ar|زكاة|translit=zakāh|label=none}}), also spelled ''Zakāt'' or ''Zakah'', is a type of [[almsgiving]] characterized by the giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually)<ref name="AhmedGianci">Ahmed, Medani, and Sebastian Gianci. "Zakat." p. 479 in ''Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy''.</ref> of [[Financial capital|accumulated wealth]] by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in [[bonded labour|debt]], or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It acts as a form of [[welfare]] in Muslim societies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ariff |first=Mohamed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&pg=PA55 |title=The Islamic Voluntary Sector in Southeast Asia: Islam and the Economic Development of Southeast Asia |publisher=[[Institute of Southeast Asian Studies]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-981-3016-07-1 |pages=55– |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023007/https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe the needy because their wealth is seen as a trust from God's bounty,<ref>{{harvp|Esposito|2010|p=109-110}}:This is not regarded as charity because it is not really voluntary but instead is owed, by those who have received their wealth as a trust from God's bounty, to the poor.</ref> and is seen as a purification of one's excess wealth.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = RoutledgeCurzon| isbn = 9780415297967| title =Major World Religions: From Their Origins to the Present.| location = United Kingdom| year = 2003| last=Ridgeon| first=Lloyd| url = | page = 258|quote=Aside from its function of purifying believers' wealth, the payment of zakat may have contributed in no small way to the economic welfare of the Muslim community in Mecca.}}</ref> The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater than global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 June 2012 |title=A faith-based aid revolution in the Muslim world |work=[[The New Humanitarian]] |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/95564/analysis-faith-based-aid-revolution-muslim-world |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114014900/https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/95564/analysis-faith-based-aid-revolution-muslim-world |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sadaqah]], as opposed to Zakat, is a much-encouraged optional charity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Said |first=Abdul Aziz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4bs7g0O4eLYC&pg=PA145 |title=Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-77011-8 |page=145 |display-authors=etal |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228023121/https://books.google.com/books?id=4bs7g0O4eLYC&pg=PA145 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Stefon|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/islamicbeliefspr0000stef/page/72 72]}} A [[waqf]] is a perpetual [[charitable trust]], which finances hospitals and schools in Muslim societies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hudson |first=A. |title=Equity and Trusts |year=2003 |edition=3rd |page=32 |location=London |publisher=Cavendish Publishing |isbn=1-85941-729-9}}</ref>