The Zakat Foundation of America

Jun 29, 2010

Many Muslim communities in the USA, especially the smaller ones, suffer under financial difficulties. This suffering is caused in part, by many communities not utilizing their resources efficiently. Zakat is a pillar of Islam and it is our obligation. The Zakat Foundation believes that if communities learn to utilize their Zakat more efficiently, we could eliminate some of the financial burdens of our suffering brothers and sisters. Therefore, the Zakat Foundation proposes July as Zakat Month, dedicated to help educate our communities about this sacred duty.

Zakat is a forgotten obligation. Many Muslims do not know much about it and those who do, may not understand all the details about the Fiqh of Zakat. We feel that it is our duty, as a grass roots organization, to help educate our community about this sacred duty. To create stable and strong communities, we must join together with Islamic Centers to educate our Muslim communities.

ISNA (Islamic Society of North America), CIOGC (Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago), Shura Council of Southern California, and Shura Council of Michigan, support Zakat Foundation's proposal to make July "Zakat Education Month". With Ramadan approaching, we ask Muslim communities to take this time to bring awareness of Zakat to our communities.

It is our hope that we can help Muslim communities work through the financial burdens of these difficult times. To that end, the Zakat Foundation is offering a free Zakat Kit to help Muslim communities get started on creating a strong, stable financial future.

The Zakat Kit includes:

• - How-to guide for organizing a Zakat Committee
• - Ready-made article on Zakat Month to include in your Masjid’s newsletter
• - Suggested dua to say after every prayer, and after Jumaa
• - Two Khutbah outlines, contributing to the understanding of Zakat
• - Masjid Zakat Application Form

Click here to download your free Zakat Kit (pdf).