Some ways to maximize the reward of charity: 1- Give it in secret. 2- Give it when the need of the poor person is great. 3- When you hasten to give it at the time when wealth is abundant. 4- When the charity is given to a relative. 5- When you spend it when you are in need. 6- When it is done at times and in places that are of special virtue. 7- If it will have a good impact on the Muslims in general.

Zakah means worshipping Allah by giving that which He has enjoined of different kinds of zakah to those who are entitled to them according to the guidelines of the Shari’ah.

There are 8 categories of Zakah recipients: 1. The poor 2. The needy 3. Those employed to collect or administer 4. To attract the hearts of those who have been inclined towards Islam 5. The slaves 6. Those who are in debt 7. For Allah’s Cause 8. The wayfarers

The general principle is that real estate is not wealth that is subject to zakah; therefore the basic guideline is that zakah is not due on it unless it is for trade.

1- If the shareowner intends to trade in shares and make a profit, then zakah is due on the commercial shares, both on the price of the share and on its profit. 2- Zakah is due on profits from manufacturing companies if it reaches the nisab and one year has passed, but no zakah is due on shares in such companies except for the cash reserves of the company. 3- In the case of agricultural companies, zakah is due on the value of the shares in crops or produce, if they are of types on which zakah is due, subject to the condition that the amount of shares reaches the nisab, which is 300 saas. zakah is also due on the value of shares in the company’s cash reserves. 4- Zakah on shares in companies is one-quarter of one-tenth, i.e., 2.5%.

This is how to calculate zakah on salary: If you take your salary for Muharram, and save one thousand Riyals of it, then you do likewise in Safar and the remaining months, when Muharram comes in the following year, you look at all that you have and pay zakah based on that.

The correct view is that the minimum threshold (Nisab) for paper money is based on silver, not gold, because that is in the best interests of the poor. The minimum threshold for silver is 595 grams. So whoever has cash that is equivalent in value to that must give Zakah on it.

The way to work out the Zakah on cash is to give 25 Riyals for every thousand. So if you have ten thousand, the Zakah is 250 Riyals. Or you can divide the amount you have by forty, and whatever results from that division is the amount of Zakah that must be paid.

If the amount of money reaches the nisab and one full Hijri year has passed, then zakah must be paid on it, whether it is for savings or otherwise. If the amount of money decreases and drops below the nisab during the year, then no zakah is due.