ZAKAT IS A COMPENSATION FOR SINS

As an outcome of His unlimited mercy, God accepts good deeds as a means of granting the servant proximity with Him as well as compensation for prior sins. The Noble Prophet (upon whom be peace) has personally emphasized how acts such as ablution for prayers, the daily prescribed prayers, the Friday prayer, Ramadan fasting and even walking to the mosque compensate for sins that were committed beforehand. Indeed, zakat is no different, as enunciated in the Qur’an:

God said: “I am with you; if you establish salat and pay the zakat, and believe in My Messengers and support them, and lend to God a goodly loan, surely I shall remit your sins, and surely I shall admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.” (Maida 5:12)

The Messenger of God had made use of the subsequent words in accentuating the compensatory facet of zakat among other deeds: “Salat, zakat, enjoining good and forbidding evil is compensation for a person’s shortcomings towards his/her home, family and neighbors.”30

The Hadith “Protect yourselves from hellfire, even it be with half a date,”31 underlines the importance of sadaqa and zakat, even if these be a tiny portion, in making amends for a person’s wrongs, along with providing a shield against the torment of punishment.