growth and profit are attainable: assets that increase on their own, such as livestock and crops, and assets that increase through human enterprise and commercial management, such as gold, silver, and merchandise. Allah has fixed the portion to be taken as zakah in proportion to the effort involved in acquiring the wealth from which it is paid. For buried treasure (rikāz) found without any labor, He has prescribed one-half of one-fifth; for assets that require moderate effort from both sides, one-quarter of one-fifth; and for assets that involve much toil and constant turnover, like cash and trade goods, one-eighth of one-fifth.

Allah has called it zakah because it purifies both soul and property. It is not a fine or tax that diminishes wealth and harms its owner; rather, it actually increases wealth’s growth in ways people do not perceive. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Wealth is never diminished by charity.”

In the Sacred Law, zakah is an obligatory right in specific wealth, owed to a specific group, at a specific time: at the completion of one full lunar year for livestock, cash, and trade goods; when the grain hardens and the fruit shows signs of ripeness; and upon the attainment of that which makes it obligatory