Zakat - the fourth pillar of Islam

Human beings are mortal creatures, and life on earth is short. The material things of this life enchant the physical element of a human and have an effect on a person's ego. In al-Qur'an, the comfort of this world is made mention of. The majority of today's Muslims are wrapped up in pursuing the things of this life. It is not wrong to indulge in the world; Muslims are supposed to collect goods in order to use them to prepare for the afterlife. People give of their excess resources to different degrees, but the minimum one can give is the zaka . Through zaka, funds are given to the needy and God's pleasure can be attained. The word zaka literally has three meanings in al-Qur'an-- purification, purity, and the poor rate. Zaka was the practice of prophets before the Prophet Muhammad. Zaka is so important in Islam that the first caliph, Abu Bakr, went to war against those who did not pay it. Zaka is obligatory on free, adult, sane Muslims who possesses the Nisaab for a year's t