All acts of worship are meant to help people become closer to God, as an individual and collectively. Zakat is the only act of worship which has financial means to facilitate this.
Once one’s wealth exceeds a certain minimum, Muslims have an obligation to pay 2.5% of their wealth annually. This is known as Zakat, which is more like a tax than charity, a tax which purifies wealth. It is meant to be collected centrally and given out in a co-ordinated way, primarily locally within the society in which payers live, across eight categories of recipients (with the exact distribution based on what is appropriate to the context to achieve the purpose). While Zakat is predominantly used to support individuals in poverty, Zakat is also meant to be given out to address collective needs (such as transforming community institutions, and promoting understanding of faith and believers).
“Indeed, [prescribed] charitable offerings are only [to be given] to the [1] poor and [2] the needy, and [3] to those who work on [administering] it, and [4] to those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and [5] to [free] those in bondage, and [6] to the debt-ridden, and [7] for the cause of God, and [8] to the wayfarer. [This is] an obligation from God. And God is all-knowing, all-wise.” (Sūrah Al-Tawbah, Chapter 9 verse 60).
It is the combination of central co-ordination, local knowledge, individual and collective support that achieves the purpose of Zakat: providing a stable and secure environment for human beings to become closer to God. However, UK Muslims are not accountable to any organisation or individual, and choose which organisations or people or to pay their zakat to. Currently 98% of Zakat is given out outside of the UK.
Muslims may also give as much voluntary charity (known as sadaqa) as they wish. Muhammad said: “Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises.” He was then asked: “From what do we give charity every day?” Muhammad answered: “The doors of goodness are many…enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road, listening to the deaf, leading the blind, guiding one to the object of his need, hurrying with the strength of one’s legs to one in sorrow who is asking for help, and supporting the feeble with the strength of one’s arms-all of these are charity prescribed for you.” Even a smile is charity.