Explained: What is Zakat, during which 78 people were killed in a stampede in Yemen

According to Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, the stampede is a direct consequence of the dire humanitarian crisis faced by the Yemeni people due to the ongoing conflict. “We hold the countries of aggression responsible for what happened and for the bitter reality that the Yemeni people live in because of the aggression and blockade,” he tweeted.

Yemen has been engulfed in an eight-year civil war that has resulted in thousands of deaths, dwindling of the economy with millions left hungry. The Yemen conflict started in 2014 when the Houthis took control of Sanaa and ousted the government. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, leading to a prolonged proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Zakat, which is the obligatory charity that requires Muslims to donate a portion of their wealth to those in need. The other four pillars are the declaration of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, and the Hajj pilgrimage. It is considered a form of worship and a means of purifying one's wealth.

Zakat is an obligatory act for Muslims, who have reached a certain level of wealth, and religious texts provide comprehensive guidelines on the minimum amount that should be distributed among the poor.

Based on the source of wealth—farm products, livestock, commercial operations, paper money, or precious metals like gold and silver—a portion of the earnings must be set aside for Zakat. The computation is based on an individual's income and the value of their belongings, and the minimum amount should be 2.5 percent or 1/40 of the total savings and wealth of a Muslim individual.