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Zakah: Almsgiving: Starter
Zakah: Almsgiving: Starter
Zakah: Almsgiving
Starter
Using the information from your research about the Night of Power,
answer the questions below:
• What particular event is remembered during the Night of Power?
• When (roughly) does the Night of Power take place?
• How do Muslims commemorate this Night? What do they do?
• Why do they believe it is important to remember this Night? What
benefits does remembering it bring?
Learning Objective: to understand how and why Zakah is given, and who benefits from it.
The Night of Power
The Night of Power is an important festival that marks the beginning of God’s revelation to Muhammad.
The exact date this happened is not agreed on, but it is believed to be one of the odd-number dates in
the second half of Ramadan. It is normally remembered on one of the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Zakah: almsgiving
to understand how and why Zakah is given, and who benefits from it.
I can clearly
I can explain
I can describe explain why the
how and why
the origins of Shi’a practice of
Zakah is given.
Zakah. Khums.
Zakah: purification of wealth, by giving 2.5% of savings
each year to the poor.
Challenge: Explain why you have distributed the money in the way you have
chosen.
Should Shi’a Muslims in the UK be expected to give Khums as well as Challenge: Explain why someone may disagree
paying UK taxes? Give reasons for your point of view. with your view.
Learning Objective: to understand how and why Zakah is given, and who benefits from it.
How would you distribute £500 between the
following categories:
• Spending money on parents
• Spending money on siblings
• Spending money on friends
• Clothes
• Leisure (going out, food, transport…)
• Giving to charity
Zakah literally means to purify or “They ask you what they should give. Say, ‘Whatever you
cleanse. Muslims believe that giving give should be for parents, close relatives, orphans, the
Zakah helps to purify the soul, removing needy and travellers. God is well aware of whatever good
you do.’”
selfishness and greed. Qur’an 2:215
How is Zakah given and who receives it?
Only Muslims with savings greater than a certain figure (known as nisab) are required to give
Zakah. The nisab is either worked out as the value of 87 grams of gold, which is around £2200, or
612 grams of silver, which is around £200. Muslims can choose which figure they use and
therefore how much they pay.
Extension:
• Have a go at this 12 mark examples question:
Giving Zakah is not an effective way for Muslims to
show their devotion to God.
• Use FREAREY to bullet point a top level answer to this question, using
teachings from the Qur’an to support points about Muslim beliefs.