Zakah means purity. This means that a man purifies his earnings by giving away one part of them in the path of God. In this way, zakah awakens the sense in man not to consider his earnings as his own possession, but a gift of God. Zakah is, in essence, a practical acknowledgement of God’s bounties. It is this admission, which is no doubt the greatest form of worship. Zakah, in reality, is a form of sacrifice meant to underlie those ethical values, which are known in Islam as Huququl Ibad, that is, fulfillment of one’s responsibilities towards others. Thus the spirit of Zakah is the service of mankind. It requires an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of an individual’s wealth and assets. Therefore Zakah, far from being viewed as “charity,” is an obligation—for those who have received their wealth from God—to help the less weaker members of the community: “...the poor, orphans, and widows, to free slaves and debtors, and to support those working for the cause of God.” (9:60).