The role of Az Zakat (an institutionalized charity), in the Islamic system of economics, in curing the poverty dilemma

Poverty may be understood as a general lack of contentment or 'lack of peace of mind.' It is not necessarily an absolute condition, but a relative one--the level of income at which one is poor can vary from society to society. Islam sees society as a single family and thus the government, as the head of that family, has the role of caring for the society. In Islam, a number of economic activities are disallowed; amongst them are hoarding, thievery, inappropriate laziness, and commerce dealing with the obscene. Some characteristics of an Islamic economy are a lack of customs duties and trade boundaries, a promotion of free trade, and the payment of zaka. Zaka means 'sweetening.' Plentiful mention in al-Qur'an is evidence of Zaka's importance in Islam. Zaka removes differences between the rich and the poor. An-Nesab is the amount of income beyond which an individual is responsible for paying zaka. An-Nesab can vary from society to society, for the level of an-Nesab reflects the