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🖥️ Unit Presentation
GRADE 8 — UNIT 2
Zakat and Sadaqah
Religious Culture and Ethics
Ayşe Yazıcı
🎯 What Will We Learn in This Unit?
- The Importance Islam Gives to Sharing and Helping One Another
- Zakat and Sadaqah as Acts of Worship
- The Individual and Social Benefits of Zakat and Sadaqah
- Getting to Know a Prophet: Prophet Shu'ayb (as)
- Getting to Know a Surah: Surah al-Ma'un and Its Meaning
📌 The Importance Islam Gives to Sharing and Helping One Another (1/2)
- Sharing and helping one another are part of social life; from birth, people connect with those around them and meet their needs by sharing and helping.
- Sharing and helping one another spring from the sense of merhamet that exists in human nature.
- "In their (the rich people's) wealth there is a right for the needy and the poor." (Surah adh-Dhariyat, 19) With these words, those who have wealth are asked to share.
📌 The Importance Islam Gives to Sharing and Helping One Another (2/2)
- Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) set the example in helping others: "Whoever meets a need of his Muslim brother, Allah will meet his need."
- In sharing and helping, priority starts with those closest to us: parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, neighbors and travelers.
- Sharing and helping must be based on goodness and taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), never on sin and hostility.
🤔 EVER WONDERED?
In the "sadaqah stone" tradition, people who wanted to help left their charity on top of a tall stone with a hollow in it, and those in need took from it. That way the giver and the receiver never saw each other.
📌 Zakat and Sadaqah as Acts of Worship (1/2)
- Zekât, one of the five pillars of Islam, means wealthy Muslims giving a share of their property and money every year to the poor above all and to the other recipients the Qur'an names.
- Zakat is due from a Muslim who has reached puberty, is of sound mind, free and nisap amount — for them it is an obligatory (fard) duty.
- Nisab is the measure of financial means set by Allah (swt) and His Messenger for acts of worship such as zakat, hajj and qurban (animal sacrifice).
❌ COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
❌ Some people think zakat is just a voluntary donation, given by whoever wants, whenever they want.
✅ Zakat is an obligatory (fard) act of worship; who gives it, how much and to whom is set out in verses and hadiths.
📌 Zakat and Sadaqah as Acts of Worship (2/2)
- Infaq, spending and giving voluntarily purely to please Allah (swt), covers both obligatory zakat and every kind of voluntary good deed.
- Sadaka, the broadest concept of all, covers both material and non-material help; even a smile or a kind word counts as sadaqah.
- Fitre, the sadaqah that Muslims who own wealth at the nisab level are required (wajib) to give during Ramadan.
🌍 AN EXAMPLE FROM REAL LIFE
With the zimem defteri (a shopkeeper's debt ledger), wealthy people would go round the shops during Ramadan and pay off the debts of poor customers who had bought on credit; the shopkeeper never told anyone who had paid. This is a beautiful example of giving in secret.
📌 The Individual and Social Benefits of Zakat and Sadaqah (1/2)
- It keeps the awareness of servanthood alive; a person does not put love of wealth before worship of Allah (swt).
- It develops gratitude; zakat is thanks for one's wealth, and sadaqah is thanks for every blessing one has.
- It increases generosity and reduces stinginess; isar (altruism), that is, the feeling of preferring others to oneself, grows stronger.
💭 THINK AND ANSWER
How do you feel when you help others, and when someone helps you?
📌 The Individual and Social Benefits of Zakat and Sadaqah (2/2)
- It strengthens bonds of love and respect; by reducing envy between rich and poor, it prevents conflict in society.
- It reduces the need to beg and helps social justice to be achieved.
👨👩👧 I DO IT WITH MY FAMILY
Together with your family, look into a charity organization near you and briefly note down what you find out.
📌 Getting to Know a Prophet: Prophet Shu'ayb (as) (1/2)
- In north-west Arabia, Prophet Shu'ayb was sent as a prophet to the people of Medyen was sent as a prophet to its people.
- The people of Madyan had drifted away from belief in the oneness of Allah and had left honesty behind by cheating with weights and measures.
- Prophet Shu'ayb warned his people, saying, "Give full measure and weight with justice."
🔍 LET'S THINK DEEPLY
- What does honesty in weights and measures look like in shopping today?
- What can we learn from Prophet Shu'ayb's determination in the face of threats?
📌 Getting to Know a Prophet: Prophet Shu'ayb (as) (2/2)
- The people of Madyan threatened Prophet Shu'ayb and mocked his prayer; he never gave up delivering his message, and because he spoke so powerfully he earned the title "Hatîbu'l-Enbiya" (the orator of the prophets).
- The people of Madyan, who paid no attention to his advice, were finally punished with a severe torment; Prophet Shu'ayb and the believers were saved with the help of Allah (swt).
⚖️ MORAL DILEMMA — WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
A friend of yours helps someone and then tells everyone about it and boasts. Thinking about riya (showing off) and ikhlas (sincerity), what would you say to them?
📌 Getting to Know a Surah: Surah al-Ma'un and Its Meaning
- Maun suresi, the 107th surah of the Holy Qur'an, was revealed in Mecca and has 7 verses. It takes its name from the word "ma'un" (help) in the last verse.
- In the surah, those who push the orphan away, who do not encourage helping the poor and who show off in their prayer (riya) are condemned.
- At the root of this behavior lies not truly believing in the afterlife; real faith requires both sincerity in worship and helping others.
🔑 Önemli Kavramlar (1/2)
🔑 Önemli Kavramlar (2/2)
📖 LET'S REFLECT ON VERSES
"In their (the rich people's) wealth there is a right for the needy and the poor."
— Zariyat suresi, 19. ayet
📖 LET'S REFLECT ON VERSES
"... Help one another in goodness and taqwa (guarding against disobeying Allah). Do not help one another in sin and hostility. Guard against disobeying Allah ..."
— Maide suresi, 2. ayet
🎬 VIDEO ON THIS TOPIC
🎥 Here you can add the YouTube link of an educational video you choose about "Zakat and Sadaqah". (fill in the iframe src field)
Zakat and Sadaqah
✅ ASSESSING MYSELF
- ☐ I can explain the concepts of zakat, sadaqah and infaq with examples.
- ☐ I can explain what nisab means and list who may receive zakat.
- ☐ I can explain the individual and social benefits of zakat and sadaqah.
- ☐ I can outline the life of Prophet Shu'ayb (as).
- ☐ I can interpret the message of Surah al-Ma'un.
📝 Unit Summary
- The Importance Islam Gives to Sharing and Helping One Another
- Zakat and Sadaqah as Acts of Worship
- The Individual and Social Benefits of Zakat and Sadaqah
- Getting to Know a Prophet: Prophet Shu'ayb (as)
- Getting to Know a Surah: Surah al-Ma'un and Its Meaning
Thank You for Listening
I wish you every success.
Ayşe Yazıcı — Religious Culture and Ethics Teacher
📝 Written Exams
📖 Unit 2 Topic Summary: Zakat and Sadaqah
1️⃣ The Importance Islam Gives to Sharing and Helping One Another
From the moment you were born you needed someone else's care, love and help. Could you ever have managed completely on your own?
🎯 In this section: We will learn why sharing and helping one another matter so much in Islam.
Sharing and helping one another are part of social life. From birth, people live by connecting with those around them; they meet their needs by sharing and helping. This behavior springs from the sense of merhamet that exists in human nature.
So who should we help first? Those closest to us: parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, neighbors and travelers. This sharing must also be based on goodness and taqwa; "helping" that supports sin and hostility is not really helping at all.
📖 Let's Reflect on a Verse
"In their (the rich people's) wealth there is a right for the needy and the poor."
— Zariyat suresi, 19. ayet
Its message: Wealth is not only an opportunity, it is also a responsibility; those in need have a right in a wealthy person's property.
🤔 Merak Ettin mi?
In the "sadaqah stone" tradition, people who wanted to help left their charity on top of a tall stone with a hollow in it, and those in need took from it. That way the giver and the receiver never saw each other, and no one felt embarrassed.
📌 Unutma!
- Order of priority in helping: first those closest to us (family, relatives, neighbors), then everyone else.
- Helping one another in goodness and taqwa — that is how it must be; we never help one another in wrongdoing.
- Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Whoever meets a need of his Muslim brother, Allah will meet his need."
💭 Let's Think
Who did you help in a small way today, or who could you have helped? (Lending a pencil is an example of helping too.)
📝 Özetle: Sharing and helping one another are a social necessity born of compassion; they start with those closest to us and must be based on goodness.
2️⃣ Zakat and Sadaqah as Acts of Worship
If a friend asked you, "Aren't zakat and sadaqah the same thing?", how would you answer?
🎯 In this section: We will learn the differences between zakat, sadaqah, infaq and fitrah.
Zekât, one of the five pillars of Islam, means wealthy Muslims giving a set share of their property to the poor every year with the intention of worship. Zakat is required of every Muslim who has reached puberty, is of sound mind, free and owns wealth of the nisap amount — for them it is an obligatory (fard) duty, so zakat is not voluntary but a compulsory act of worship. Nisab is the measure of financial means that marks the threshold for this duty.
There are two more concepts alongside zakat. Infaq, spending and giving voluntarily purely to please Allah (swt). Sadaka is a much broader concept: it covers every kind of good, material and non-material — even a smile counts as sadaqah. Fitre is a special sadaqah that is necessary (wajib) to give during Ramadan on behalf of every member of the family.
❌ Common Misconceptions
❌ Some people think zakat is just a voluntary donation, given by whoever wants, whenever they want.
✅ Zakat is an obligatory (fard) act of worship; who gives it, from which property, how much and to whom is set out in verses and hadiths.
📌 Unutma!
- Zekât = Farz (zorunlu). Sadaqah/Infaq = Gönüllü.
- Nisap: The measure of financial means required for zakat.
- Ushr: Toprak ürünlerinden verilen zekât. Fitre: Ramazanda verilen özel sadaka.
🏠 From Our Lives
With the zimem defteri (a shopkeeper's debt ledger), wealthy people would go round the shops during Ramadan and pay off the debts of poor customers who had bought on credit; the shopkeeper never told anyone who had paid. This is a beautiful example of giving in secret.
💭 Let's Think
How would you explain the most important difference between zakat and sadaqah in your own words?
📝 Özetle: Zakat is obligatory, while sadaqah and infaq are voluntary. Nisab is the measure for zakat, ushr is the zakat on crops, and fitrah is a sadaqah special to Ramadan.
3️⃣ The Individual and Social Benefits of Zakat and Sadaqah
Does giving zakat only benefit the person who receives it, or does it change the giver too?
🎯 In this section: We will learn what zakat and sadaqah bring both to the individual and to society.
Zakat and sadaqah benefit the giver first: they keep the awareness of servanthood alive, develop gratitude, increase generosity and reduce stinginess. Putting others before yourself even when you are in need is called isar (altruism); zakat and sadaqah strengthen this beautiful feeling too.
For society, zakat and sadaqah strengthen the bonds of affection between the wealthy and the poor, reduce envy and prevent conflict, lessen the need to beg and help social justice to be achieved. The waqf institutions formed when people donate their property (such as the Waqf Guraba Hospital and Darülaceze) are lasting, organized examples of these benefits.
📌 Unutma!
- Bireysel fayda: Awareness of servanthood, gratitude, generosity, ithar (altruism).
- Toplumsal fayda: Bonds of affection, social justice, less need to beg.
- Waqf: Institutions where these benefits become permanent.
💭 Let's Think
How do you feel when you help others and when someone helps you?
👨👩👧 From Our Lives
Together with your family, look into a charity organization near you and briefly note down what you find out.
📝 Özetle: Zakat and sadaqah strengthen both the giver (awareness of servanthood, generosity) and society (justice, solidarity); waqfs are lasting examples of these benefits.
4️⃣ Getting to Know a Prophet: Prophet Shu'ayb (as)
If your own people threatened you and mocked your prayer... would you still keep saying what you knew was right?
🎯 In this section: We will learn about Prophet Shu'ayb's (as) struggle and the message he brought.
Prophet Shu'ayb, on the trade routes, Medyen , a land on the trade routes. These people had drifted away from belief in the oneness of Allah and, especially in trade, had left honesty behind by cheating with weights and measures. Prophet Shu'ayb reminded them of honest trade, saying, "Give full measure and weight with justice."
The people of Madyan rejected this call; they threatened Prophet Shu'ayb and mocked his prayer. But he never gave up — and he spoke so beautifully and powerfully that he was given the title "Hatîbu'l-Enbiya" (the orator of the prophets). In the end the people of Madyan, who paid no attention to his advice, were punished with a severe torment, while Prophet Shu'ayb and the believers were saved with the help of Allah (swt).
📌 Unutma!
- Prophet Shu'ayb (as), Medyen to honesty in weights and measures.
- Thanks to his gift for beautiful speech, he was given the title "Hatîbu'l-Enbiya" , the orator of the prophets.
- Despite threats and mockery, he never gave up his duty to deliver the message.
🔍 Let's Think Deeply
To think more deeply about what you have learned in this unit, ask yourself these questions:
- What does honesty in weights and measures look like in shopping today?
- What can I learn from Prophet Shu'ayb's determination in the face of threats?
- What does sharing and helping others change in my daily life?
⚖️ Moral Dilemma — What Would You Do?
A friend of yours helps someone and then tells everyone about it and boasts. Thinking about riya (showing off) and ikhlas (sincerity), what would you say to them?
📝 Özetle: Prophet Shu'ayb (as) called the people of Madyan to honest trade; he kept delivering his message without bowing to threats and was saved with the help of Allah (swt).
5️⃣ Getting to Know a Surah: Surah al-Ma'un and Its Meaning
Can someone who prays still behave "badly"? Surah al-Ma'un is about exactly that.
🎯 In this section: We will learn Surah al-Ma'un and the message it gives.
Maun suresi, the 107th surah of the Holy Qur'an, was revealed in Mecca and has seven verses in all. It takes its name from the word "ma'un" (help, everyday necessities) in the last verse. The surah first condemns those who push the orphan away and do not encourage helping the poor.
The rest of the surah criticizes those who do not take their prayers seriously and who show off in their worship (riya). Riya means doing acts of worship and good deeds to show off to people. The message of Surah al-Ma'un is clear: sincere (ihlas) worship and helping others cannot be separated from each other.
🕌 Surah al-Ma'un — Recitation and Meaning
| Bismillâhirrahmânirrahîm. | In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. |
| 1. Eraeytellezî yükezzibü biddîn | Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgment? |
| 2. Feẕâlikellezî yedu'ul yetîm | That is the one who pushes the orphan away, |
| 3. Velâ yehuddu alâ ta'âmilmiskîn | yoksula yedirmeyi özendirmeyen kimsedir. |
| 4. Feveylün lilmusallîn | So woe to those who pray |
| 5. Ellezîne hüm an salâtihim sâhûn | but do not take their prayers seriously. |
| 6. Ellezîne hüm yürâûne | They show off (with their prayers). |
| 7. Veyemne'ûnel mâûn | And they withhold even the smallest help. |
📖 Let's Reflect on a Verse
"So woe to those who pray but do not take their prayers seriously. They show off (with their prayers). And they withhold even the smallest help."
— Maun suresi, 4-7. ayetler
Its message: Worshipping is not enough on its own; why we worship and how we treat other people matter just as much as the worship itself.
📌 Unutma!
- Maun suresi 107. sure, revealed in Mecca, 7 ayettir.
- Riya: Doing acts of worship to show off.
- True faith requires both sincerity in worship and helping others.
📝 Özetle: Surah al-Ma'un condemns those who do not help others and who show off in worship; it teaches that sincere (ikhlas) worship and helping others must go together.
✅ Assessing Myself
📝 Topic Review Test (50 Questions)
🎯 MEB Learning Outcomes
Source: 2018 RCE Curriculum (MEB Board of Education) — 8.2. Zakat and Sadaqah
- 8.2.1 — Explains the importance of sharing and helping others with examples.
- 8.2.2 — Evaluates the concepts of zakat, sadaqah and infaq in relation to one another.
- 8.2.3 — Explains the concept of nisab and who may receive zakat.
- 8.2.4 — Interprets the individual and social benefits of zakat and sadaqah.
- 8.2.5 — Knows the main outline of Prophet Shu'ayb's (as) life.
- 8.2.6 — Reads Surah al-Ma'un and reflects on its meaning.
🗺️ Concept Map
The key concepts set out for this unit in the MEB curriculum are shown below, linked to the unit theme.