Zakat in the context of "Khums"

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population, after Christianity.

Muslims believe that there is a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets and messengers, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and they believe that Islam is the universal and complete version of this faith. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (the Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injil (Gospel). They believe that Muhammad is the main and final of God's prophets, through whom the religion was completed. The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the Sunnah, documented in accounts called the hadith, provide a constitutional model for Muslims. Islam is based on the belief in the oneness and uniqueness of God (tawhid), and belief in an afterlife (akhirah) with the Last Judgment—wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise (jannah) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell (jahannam). The Five Pillars, considered obligatory acts of worship, are the Islamic oath and creed (shahada), daily prayers (salah), almsgiving (zakat), fasting (sawm) in the month of Ramadan, and a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. Islamic law, sharia, touches on virtually every aspect of life, from banking and finance and welfare to men's and women's roles and the environment. The two main religious festivals are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The three holiest sites in Islam are Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Dhimmī (Arabic: ذمي ḏimmī, IPA: [ˈðimmiː], collectively أهل الذمة ʾahl aḏ-ḏimmah/dhimmah "the people of the covenant") or muʿāhid (معاهد) is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection and certain restrictions. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under sharia to protect the individual's life, property, as well as freedom of religion, in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax, in contrast to the zakat, or obligatory alms, paid by the Muslim subjects. Dhimmi were exempt from military service and other duties assigned specifically to Muslims if they paid the poll tax (jizya) but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation. Dhimmis were subject to specific restrictions as well, which were codified in agreements like the Pact of ʿUmar. These included prohibitions on building new places of worship, repairing existing ones in areas where Muslims lived, teaching children the Qurʾān, and preventing relatives from converting to Islam. They were also required to wear distinctive clothing, refrain from carrying weapons, and avoid riding on saddles.

Hajj (/hɑːdʒ/; Arabic: حَجّ, romanized: Ḥajj; also spelled Hadj or Haj) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.

In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "House of Allah", in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah (oath that one believes there is no god but Allah), salat (prayer), zakat (almsgiving), and sawm (fasting during Ramadan). The Hajj is an annual practice when Muslim brotherhood is on display and their solidarity with fellow Muslim people and submission to God (Allah) is fulfilled. The Hajj is taken by Muslims to cleanse their souls of all worldly sins, which connotes both the outward act of a journey after death and the inward act of good intentions. The rites of pilgrimage are performed over five to six days, extending from the 8th to the 12th or 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven-twelve days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. In 2024 AD (1445 AH), Dhu al-Hijjah extended from 7 June to 6 July and in 2025 AD (1446 AH), Dhu al-Hijjah was from 28 May to 25 June. In 2026 AD (1447 AH), Dhu al-Hijjah will extend from 18 May to 15 June; and in 2027 AD (1448 AH), Dhu al-Hijjah will extend from 24 May to 22 June.

The Five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-Islām أركان الإسلام; also arkān ad-dīn أركان الدين "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, particularly Sunni Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on the basic details of the performance and practice of these acts, but Shia denominations may have their own lists of pillars that differ from the Sunni five, such as the Twelver Ancillaries of the Faith (consisting of four pillars and six obligatory acts) and the Ismaili Seven Pillars. The five pillars are: profession of faith (Shahada), prayer (Salah), almsgiving (Zakat), fasting in the month of Ramadan (Sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).

Muamalat (also muʿāmalāt, Arabic: معاملات, literally "transactions" or "dealings") is a part of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. Muamalat has been defined as Islamic "rulings governing commercial transactions",but also more broadly to include civil acts and in general all aspects of fiqh that are not Ibadat, i.e. not acts of ritual worship such as prayer or fasting, (See organizational chart of the structure of Islam below in "Principles" section.)

Mu'amalat provides much of the basis for Islamic economics, and the instruments of Islamic financing, and deals not only with Islamic legality but also social and economic repercussions and the rationale of its prohibitions (according to Monzer Kahf). Even a broad definition of Muamalat does not deal with all aspects of property and money in Islam, as zakat — compulsory alms giving that is one of the five pillars of Islam — is part of Ibadat division of fiqh.

Hassan Ahmed Abd al-Rahman Muhammed al-Banna (Arabic: حسن أحمد عبد الرحمن محمد البنا; 14 October 1906 – 12 February 1949), known as Hassan al-Banna (Arabic: حسن البنا), was an Egyptian schoolteacher and Imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential global Islamist movements, and for his death at the hands of the Egyptian government.

Al-Banna's writings marked a turning-point in Islamic intellectual history by presenting a distinct and all-encompassing modern ideology based on Islam. Al-Banna considered Islam to be a comprehensive system of life, with the Quran and Sunnah as the only acceptable constitution. He called for Islamization of the state, the economy, and society. He declared that establishing a just society required development of institutions and progressive taxation, and developed an Islamic fiscal theory where zakat would be reserved for social expenditure in order to reduce inequality. Al-Banna's ideology featured criticism of Western materialism, British imperialism, and the traditionalism of the Egyptian ulema. He appealed to Egyptian and pan-Arab patriotism but rejected Arab nationalism and regarded all Muslims as members of a single nation-community.