Working
Together

You know, early on,

when the Messenger had not long heard the first words of the Qur'an in the cave at Hira,

many of the people that followed him were poor,

and although they were rejected by many of those around them,

they were all welcomed as equal in the sight of God.

But that didn't make their lives on earth any richer.

It didn't make it any easier to be able to afford food to eat.

But the Messenger's example was endlessly generous,

and he encouraged all those that followed him to give to the poor in charity.

But that idea of charity was soon recognised as something that needed to be done by the whole community together,

with the Zaka being made a necessary part of every muslims way of life.

So much so that it was constantly linked with mention of the Sala in the Qur'an,

making clear that it was not enough simply to pray.

Prayer does not make God greater in any way,

it is for the good of the one who prays,

and that good is shared with those around

by taking care of fellow human beings,

the orphans and the poor.

Sadaqa, voluntary charity, was also expected of muslims,

and its value can be seen in that it is often made a way of making up for other failings,

such as missing days of fasting in Ramadhan,

by feeding the poor or freeing slaves.

And the Messenger's mosque in Madina had an area where the poor used to sit,

and people would bring them bunches of dates and other food to eat.

But with the Zaka that responsibility for taking care of the poor

is taken on by the community as a whole.

By working together in this way, greater things could be achieved,

and the small amounts of money people had to pay as Zaka could be put together and used to do good for the whole community,

not just individual poor people.

So by joining together in charitable giving,

people could take care of the physical well-being of the whole community,

and hospitals would be built alongside mosques,

where what was learned inside the mosque was put to practical use.

And so, because the Zaka was made necessary by God,

that understanding of the need to take care of the poor

is still an essential part of the muslim way of life today.