What it means
زکات (zakat) derives from the Arabic root z-k-w, which carries the meanings of purity, growth, and blessing. The theological logic is that by giving a portion of wealth away, the remainder is purified and increased. Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is obligatory, not optional. It requires Muslims who possess wealth above a minimum threshold (nisab) for a full lunar year to give a fixed percentage, typically 2.5 percent on savings, to specified categories of recipients. This distinguishes it clearly from صدقه (sadaqe), which is voluntary. In Iran, zakat is less administratively organized than in some other Muslim-majority countries; many Shia Muslims fulfil related obligations through خمس (khoms) instead.
How to use it
- زکات یکی از ارکان پنجگانه اسلام است. (zakat yeki az arkan-e panjgane-ye eslam ast.) “Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.”
- اگه به حد نصاب رسیدی، باید زکات بدی. (age be hadd-e nesab residi, bayad zakat bedi.) “If your wealth reaches the threshold, you must pay zakat.”
- زکات بر طلا، نقره، دام و محصولات واجب است. (zakat bar tala, noqre, dam va mahsulat vajeb ast.) “Zakat is obligatory on gold, silver, livestock, and crops.”
- پرداخت زکات فقر را از جامعه کم میکند. (pardakht-e zakat faqr ra az jame’e kam mikonad.) “Paying zakat reduces poverty in society.”
Cultural note
Among Shia Muslims, who form the majority in Iran, zakat is acknowledged as obligatory but applies to a narrower set of commodities (nine: wheat, barley, dates, raisins, gold, silver, camels, cattle, and sheep) compared to broader Sunni interpretations. In practice, many Iranian Shia Muslims place greater emphasis on خمس (khoms), the one-fifth tax, as the primary financial obligation of religious law. Zakat al-Fitr, the special charity paid at the end of Ramadan before the Eid prayer, is widely observed across all Muslim communities.