43وَأَقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكاةَ وَاركَعوا مَعَ الرّاكِعينَMir AneesuddinAnd establish worship (salat) and give charity (zakat)1 and bow down with those who bow down.Zakat: This word literally means purification, but as a term in Islamic law, it means: giving off a fixed portion of cash or property by the rich to the poor annually, for purification of wealth. The payment of 2 1/2 percent of cash or kind as zakat, is compulsory provided that the cash or property is of a certain minimum value and it has been in possession for one lunar year. This word has been translated as poor rate, poor due. alms, regular charity, Islamic tax etc., but these words do not convey the exact sense of the term. In view of this the word zakat is bracketed with charily to retain its original meaning and distinguish it from normal charity. Zakat is actually the property of the poor but in the custody of the rich, so it is a sin if the rich do not dispose it off to the people to whom it belongs. Zakat being the right of the poor, one deserving to receive it should not feel insulted to accept it Allah has made zakat obligatory on the rich and has thus indicated that money should flow from the rich to the poor and not vice versa as in usury, which He has prohibited (2: 278-279).