Ṣadaqah in the modern Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary charity". According to the Quran, the word means a voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the benefactor. It is similar to zakat, or compulsory giving, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.