“Those who spend (in charity) of their wealth by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” [Quran 2:274]

Zakat, or almsgiving, is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with prayer, fasting, pilgrimage (Hajj) and belief in Allah (SWT) and His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW). For every sane, adult Muslim who owns wealth over a certain amount – known as the nisab – he or she must pay 2.5% of that wealth…

According to the Muslim traditions (hadith), a needy relative has more right over your Fitra, followed by your neighbor and then an educated one and then so on. The reason for this is that Islam places special emphasis on family and community relations. We are asked to hold on to…