Tithe Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Islam== {{main|Zakāt}} [[Zakāt]] ({{lang-ar|زكاة}} {{IPA-ar|zækæːh|}}) or "alms giving", one of the [[Five Pillars of Islam]], is the giving of a small percentage of one's assets to [[charity (practice)|charity]]. It serves principally as the [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]] contribution to poor and deprived Muslims, although others may have a rightful share. It is the duty of an Islamic state not just to collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well. Zakat is payable on three kinds of assets: wealth, production, and animals. The more well-known zakat on wealth is 2.5 per cent of accumulated wealth, beyond one's personal needs. Production (agricultural, industrial, renting, etc.), is subject to a 10 per cent or 5 per cent zakat (also known as Ushur (عُشر), or "one-tenth"), using the rule that if both labor and capital are involved, 5% rate is applied, if only one of the two are used for production, then the rate is 10 per cent. For any earnings, that require neither labor nor capital, like finding underground treasure, the rate is 20 per cent. The rules for zakat on animal holdings are specified by the type of animal group and tend to be fairly detailed.<ref name=ghamidi>The book ''Meezan'', by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, published by Al-Mawrid, 2002, Lahore, Pakistan</ref> Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth. Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as performing the five-daily repetitive ritualised prayer ([[salat]]).<ref name=zysow>{{citation |last= Zysow |first= A. Zakāt |title= Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition= Second |editor1= P. Bearman |editor2= Th. Bianquis |editor3= C.E. Bosworth |editor4= E. van Donzel |editor5= W.P. Heinrichs |publisher= Brill |year= 2009}}.{{page needed|date=October 2014}} Available from [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_COM-1377 Brill Online] (subscription).</ref> Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future business.<ref name=zysow/> In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich.<ref>Robinson, Neal. Islam; A Concise Introduction. Richmond; Curzon Press. 1999</ref> Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe. In the 2nd edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' it states, "...the prayers of those who do not pay zakat will not be accepted".<ref name=zysow/> This is because without Zakat a tremendous hardship is placed on the poor which otherwise would not be there. Besides the fear of their prayers not getting heard, those who are able should be practicing this third pillar of Islam because the Quran states that this is what believers should do.<ref>Chapter 2 verse 155, "be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss on goods, lives, and fruits. But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere."</ref> Non-Muslims (able-bodied adult males of military age) living in an Islamic state are required to pay [[Jizya]], this exempts them from military service and they do not pay Zakat. Ismaili Muslims pay tithes to their spiritual leader the [[Aga Khan]], known by the Gujarati language term ''dasond'', which in turn refers to one-eighth of the earned income of the community member. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page