FAQs on paying Zakat through Action Against Hunger
Which scholars have you consulted to come up with your Zakat policy?
Shaikh Abid Khan is a graduate of Law and a teacher by profession. Having studied the Islamic Sciences with teachers in the UK, Imam Abid decided to take his studies further and spent several years studying at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Egypt from which he graduated with a BA in Islamic and Arabic Studies.
How do I know my Zakat will support those who need it the most?
For Ramadan 2026, we have chosen two specific projects which will receive the donations from our Zakat campaign. These projects are:
- Somalia: purchase of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and therapeutic milk (F-100, F-75) for use in the treatment of acute malnutrition
- Senegal: the purchasing of livestock and seeds to support the establishment and sustainability of livelihoods, and the provision of health facilities.
Donations made through our Zakat campaign will be restricted to these projects only.
Every year, we produce a Global Impact Report, where you can learn about the impact of the Action Against Hunger global network as a whole, including which countries we work in and how many people we reach across the globe.
Action Against Hunger UK submits its independently audited accounts annually to the Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence. You can read our Annual Reports here on our website.
Who receives Zakat donations?
There are eight categories of people who are eligible to receive Zakat:
- The poor
- The needy
- Administrators of Zakat
- Those whose hearts have been recently reconciled
- Those who have been enslaved
- Those in debt
- In the cause of God
- Travellers
How do you assess whether someone is poor and needy?
We have local staff in the countries in which we work who carry out assessments, using selection criteria, to ensure that we are reaching the most vulnerable people.
Do you give Zakat funds to non-Muslims or Muslims only?
This year, donations made through our Zakat campaign will be restricted to projects in Senegal and Somalia, which are both Muslim-majority countries. We cannot, however, guarantee that these projects do not include beneficiaries who are not of the Muslim faith.
How many Muslims do you work with around the world?
We are not a religious organisation, and do not collect information on the religious beliefs of our beneficiaries, so we cannot provide an accurate answer to how many of the people we work with are Muslim.
However, we do gather overall reach in each country that we work in, and as such can provide accurate data on how many people we have reached in the Muslim-majority countries in which we work, which in 2024 was 15,157, 312. This information has been taken from our 2024 Global Impact Report country profiles.
General FAQs about Zakat
What is Zakat?
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a compulsory donation to charity by all Muslims who reach the minimum threshold for payment.
How much is Zakat?
Zakat is 2.5% of your total wealth. For example, if you have £1,000 of wealth liable to Zakat, you would pay £25.
Do non-Muslims have to pay Zakat?
No, Zakat is only obligatory for Muslims.
Can non-Muslims give Zakat?
We do not gather information about personal or religious beliefs during the donation process, but non-Muslims are of course very welcome to donate to our Zakat campaign. Any donations made to the Zakat campaign will be covered by our Zakat guarantee.
If a supporter wishes to donate in a non-Zakat related way, they are invited to donate through our usual donation page.
