Part 2 : Benefits of Zakat :

Part 2 : Benefits of Zakat : Zakat has many religious, behavioral and communal benefits of which we will mention the following from them:

From its religious benefits are:

1. It is abiding by one of the pillars of Islam, upon which rests an individual’s prosperity in this worldly life and the Hereafter.

2. It brings a servant close to his Lord and increases his Faith. This is the case with all of the acts of worship.

3. What comes as a result of doing it, such as great reward. Allah says: “Allah will wipe away (the reward) of usury and increase that of charity (i.e. Zakat).” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 276]

And He says: “And that which you give as a gift (to others) in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting something in return) from other people’s property, has no increase with Allah. But that which you give in Zakat sincerely for the sake of Allah, those people shall have manifold increase.” [Surah Ar-Room: 39]

The Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever gives away charity the size of a date, which is earned lawfully, since Allah only accepts the good lawful things, Allah will indeed take it with His right Hand and cause it to grow for its owner, just as one of you raises up his colt, to the point that the charity will become like the size of a mountain.” [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]

4. Allah wipes away the (minor) sins by way of it, as the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Giving charity wipes away sins just as water extinguishes fire.” The word charity (sadaqah) here refers to the Zakat as well as the supererogatory form of charity.

From the benefits it has on a person’s character are:

1. It causes him to follow the way of the generous individuals possessing kindness and generosity.

2. Giving the Zakat requires a person to characterize himself with the attributes of mercy and sympathy towards his destitute brothers, and Allah shows mercy to those who have mercy on others.

3. What has been witnessed is that giving financial and physical support to Muslims causes the hearts to become open and the soul to be pleased. And it causes a person to become loved and respected according to the extent of support he gives to his fellow brothers.

4. Giving Zakat cleanses one’s character from stinginess and miserliness, as Allah says: “Take the charity (Zakat) from their wealth in order to purify and cleanse them by way of it.” [Surah At-Tawbah: 103]

From its communal benefits is that:

1. Zakat provides for the needs of the poor who are the majority of people in most countries and strengthens the Muslims and raises their status.

3. It removes the grudges and ill feelings found in the hearts of the poor and destitute. This is since when the poor see the money the wealthy have and their not benefiting them with it, by giving them neither a little nor a lot, then it is likely that they will hold hatred and rancor for the wealthy as they did not enforce their rights or provide for their needs. But when the wealthy do give some of their money to them at the beginning of every year (i.e. after holding the wealth for a year’s time), these things terminate and there comes about love and harmony.

4. Giving Zakat boosts one’s wealth and increases it’s blessedness, as is stated in the hadeeth from the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in which he said: “Charity does not detract from one’s wealth.” This means that even though charity (Zakat) takes away from one’s wealth numerically, it indeed never takes away from its blessedness or its increasing in the future. Rather, Allah will replace what he gave away and bless his/her wealth.

5. Zakat is a means for spreading and distributing wealth (throughout the community). This is since if some wealth is given out, its range is broadened and many people benefit from it, contrary to when the wealth is just preserved amongst the rich, since the poor will not gain any part of it. ---- As given by Shaykh ibn Uthaimeen.