“(The believers have indeed attained success: those)… who observe Zakāh”.
(Al-Qur’ān – 23:4)
The significance of ‘observing Zakāh’ is entirely different from paying Zakāh, and it is a mistake to overlook the difference between the two meanings. It would appear important that in this verse whilst describing the attributes of believers, the Qur’ān departs from the usual usage yu’tūn al-zakāh, ‘they pay zakāh’, and employs instead the unusual expression li al-zakāt fā‘ilūn, ‘they observe zakāh. In Arabic, zakāh signifies two things: (1) purity, and (2) growth.
To remove all that obstructs the growth of a thing and to enable its essence to grow are the two concepts that bring out the full meaning of zakāh. When this word is employed in the Islamic context, it applies to (1) the amount of wealth that is given away in order to achieve purification; and (2) the striving to purify oneself. Had the expression been yu’tūn al-zakāh, they pay zakāh, it would simply have meant that believers give away a part of their wealth so as to purify themselves. This would have restricted the act simply to giving away wealth. The actual expression used here, however, is li al-zakāt fā‘ilūn which signifies that the believers are actively engaged in purification. In such a case, the matter does not end with their giving away part of their wealth, rather it embraces a whole range of acts including purification of one’s self, purification of one’s morality, purification of one’s wealth; in sum, the purification of virtually everything.