The third pillar of Islam is Zakat. If shahada is an act of the tongue, which confirms the belief of the heart and salat is a worship with the limbs of the whole body, zakat is a form of worship of Allah with one's wealth. Zakat means purification: the purification of wealth, which consists of the payment of 2.5 percent of the accumulated wealth, i.e. the wealth that has been stored, without having been moved, for a whole year. The payment of this Zakat becomes obligatory when the accumulated amount is more than 20 gold dinars, or in the case of silver, if it is more than 200 dirhams or its equivalent in the currency of the country. This is the case if the accumulated wealth is money. If the accumulated wealth is livestock or agricultural crops or goods stored for trade, a portion is also taken from it, at the end of a year, to be distributed as Zakat. In the case of agricultural production, the payment of zakat is at the time of harvesting the fruit or harvesting the fields. The payment of zakat is a form of worship that is performed with one's wealth. It serves as a purification of wealth, which increases it, and a purification of the heart from its attachment to property, which makes wealth a blessing. Zakat is collected by the authority of each Muslim community and distributed equally by the amir or caliph or his appointees. It differs from what is known as Sadaqa which is voluntary and arbitrary alms given spontaneously and freely. Zakat, on the other hand, is a right that the needy have over the wealth of the wealthy.
This is the pillar of Islam that is most weakened today, largely due to the almost total disappearance of the Muslim form of government and social organisation. It is the duty and obligation of all Muslims to restore this pillar of Islam and we ask Allah to give us the strength to do so.
