Zakah and its significance
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the importance and use of zakah and khums as charitable taxes within Islam.
Key learning points
- Zakah is one of the Five Pillars and Ten Obligatory Acts within Islam.
- Zakah is a compulsory charitable tax paid by Muslims of 2.5% of their wealth in a year.
- Zakah is used to support those in need in the Ummah and wider world.
- Khums is an additional tax paid by Shi'a Muslims of 20%.
Keywords
Giving alms - giving to those in need, e.g., money, food, time; this is a key practice in Islam
Khums - 'one fifth'; an additional 20% tax paid by Shi'a Muslims as alms
Zakah - 'to purify'; a charity tax where Muslims give 2.5% of their yearly wealth as alms
Ummah - 'community'; the worldwide community of Muslims who share a common religious identity
Common misconception
Zakah and khums are voluntary donations to charity.
Zakah is obligatory in Sunni Islam and both zakah and khums are obligatory in Shi'a Islam. Additional voluntary donations can be made to charity as well and is known as sadaqah.
Teacher tip
Students can research some of the projects around the world that zakah money supports, as well as looking at zakah and khums calculations online to see how much of someone's wealth is given away through these obligatory percentages.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Muslims are required to pray times each day.
Q2.Where are Muslims allowed to pray?
Q3.Which of the following best describes the differences in prayers between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims?
Q4.What is the name of the special Friday congregational prayer?
Q5.When are Sunni Muslims allowed to combine prayers?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Zakah is a compulsory that requires Muslims to give a percentage of their wealth to charity annually.
Q2.What is the purpose of zakah in Islam?
Q3.What percentage of wealth do Muslims give as zakah?
Q4.What is khums?
Q5.Which group is not typically supported by zakah?
Q6. like Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief use zakah funds to provide help to people in need around the world.
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Zakah and its significance, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Zakah and its significance, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Islam: Practices unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.