The Book of Zakah
Chapter: The Legitimacy and Rank of Zakah

Know—may Allah grant success to me and to you—that one must understand in detail the rulings of zakah, its conditions, those upon whom it is obligatory, those who are entitled to receive it, and the kinds of wealth from which it is taken.

Zakah is one of the pillars of Islam and among its mighty foundations, as borne out by the evidences of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah, exalted is He, has coupled it with prayer in no fewer than eighty-two places in His Book, underscoring its tremendous importance and the perfect bond that unites it with prayer. So strong is this link that the truthful one of this ummah and the first successor to the Messenger, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, said: “I will indeed fight those who separate prayer from zakah.”

Allah, the Most High, says: “And establish prayer and give zakah” (Qur’an 2:43).

He also says: “But if they establish prayer and give zakah, then leave their way open” (Qur’an 9:5).