Giving zakat, or money to the poor, is one of the obligations of Islam. But how does one know how much to give, asks Mai Samih One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust and a certain amount should be set aside for those in need. This amount, called zakat, or zakah, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and it serves as a form of social security for all. The giving of zakat not only purifies the rest of the property of the giver, but it also cleanses a giver's heart of all traces of selfishness or greed. For the recipient, receiving zakat purifies the heart of envy or jealousy, and it fosters feelings of goodwill towards the givers of zakat, removing any traces of uneasiness. In short, by giving a certain amount of money to the poor, wealthy people can purify the rest of their wealth, and the giving and receiving of zakat helps all Muslims to express their gratitude for the bounties God has given them. Helping those in need is one of the key aspects of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan when great quantities of zakat are traditionally given, but knowing how much to give is a dilemma that people face every year. Recently Dar Al-Iftaa Al-Missriya has set up a department of Islamic legal calculation in order to assist those giving zakat but not sure how much they should give. According to Effat, calculating zakat can be a simple process. "We need company documents or records of personal savings accounts in order to calculate the zakat for each year. If we are issuing a written fatwa, we also need an ID," he says. The total assets are added up, subtracting any loans or liabilities, giving a net balance. The gold nessab, or the amount of wealth on which zakat should be paid, is counted by multiplying the gold market price by 85 grammes. The same is done for the value of silver, but this is multiplied by 595 grammes, which gives the silver nessab. If a person's net assets are equal to or greater than the value of either the silver or the gold nessab, and the person has been in possession of this amount for a full lunar year, then zakat is due. If that amount is smaller, then zakat is not due. The purpose of these calculations, part of Islamic jurisprudence, is to find out whether zakat is payable on assets or not. If zakat is to be paid, it should be 2.5 per cent of wealth owned throughout a full lunar year. Farmers who own their own land and harvest their own crops are required to pay between 5 and 10 per cent of the value of their harvest in zakat, depending on the type of irrigation used. Zakat is not calculated on certain classes of company fixed assets, such as computers or machinery. For carrying out this service on the behalf of either companies or individuals, the department of the Dar Al-Iftaa charges a small fee. For a company, this will depend on the amount of money the company needs to give as zakat, meaning LE25 for every LE10,000 paid. Individuals are charged a LE25 flat fee. Who should receive zakat? According to religious texts, those who should be given zakat include the fuqara (the poor) the masakeen (the extremely poor whose income is not enough to cover their basic needs), the al-amileen alayha (those appointed to distribute zakat), the gharimeen (debtors), fi-sabeelillah (those carrying out obligatory deeds), and the ibnus-sabeel (travellers who are well to do at home but who need support to return to their homeland). The Islamic Legal Calculation Department is under the direct supervision of the mufti of Egypt. It is the first of its kind in the history of religious institutions in Egypt and is composed of experts in Islamic religious sciences and economics. In addition to advising on zakat, these experts will answer questions and give guidance on calculations relating to religious endowments, hikr (a contract that applies to both endowments as well as personal possessions), estate divisions, munasakhat (the process of dividing the inheritance in the case that a person has died and his estate is not divided between his heirs until after one or more of his heirs have died), bequests, financial support to cover living expenses, apportionment (the process of dividing commonly owned property or wealth between partners) and astronomical calculations. The department also issues publications related to zakat and religious endowments in order to raise public awareness of them, and it gives guidance to individuals and institutions wanting to establish endowment funds and needing to know the most appropriate legal channels in order to achieve the greatest social development from them.
