The word “Zakka” means to purify. It is not a charity (the Arabic name for that is “Sadaqah”), and it is a specified portion of the wealth acquired during a cycle of economic activity that is due to Allah or to those to whom Allah indicates it should be given, in order to “cleanse” the rest of our wealth.
Quran does not specify the amount to remit, but previous scriptures indicate it as 10%. Allah encourages people to spend in His cause, and he considers what people spend as a loan to Him that He will return at the rate of 7000%. Quran mentions to give away “the excess”, what is beyond our needs ( ).
Zakat is designed as a safety net to eradicate poverty and dire needs. Allah indicates that Zakat should be given “on the day of its harvest” (or acquisition) ( ). Poor people in distress experience needs all year long, not only once a year. Yet, Moslems give Zakat once a year, and they created a complicated and elaborate system for calculating the portion to be given, depending upon what the revenue consists of (currency, gold, livestock, agricultural products, etc…), and reduced it mainly to 2.5% (that they call the ¼ of the 10%).
Quran Perspective 