Zakaah- The Purifier

Zakah is the fourth pillar of Islam. The Qur`an states, “And establish salah (prayer) and pay zakah (alms); whatever good you send forth for yourselves, you will find it with Allah. Certainly, Allah is watchful of what you do.” Did you know that the command of salah and zakah has appeared together in eighty-two places of the Quran?

It is obligatory on every mature and sane Muslim who has had wealth exceeding a predetermined minimum threshold (termed as “nisab” – that is 612.36 grams of silver or its equivalent value in local currency and 87.48 grams for gold) for the duration of one entire lunar year to deduct 2.5 percent as zakat and dispense it in the causes outlined in Islamic law. The responsibility of zakat should be fulfilled as soon as possible since Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity.”

The act of giving zakat pleases Allah, removes calamities, fulfils the needs of the poor and needy, revives community spirit, supports the oppressed and weak, boosts the economy and purifies lawful money. The word `zakah` has two denotations in Arabic, namely growth and purification. Zakah is a means of purifying one’s wealth and increasing blessings in the remainder of wealth.

The zakah must be paid on different categories of assets, including, gold and silver, money, stock in trade (considering the market-rated value of the stock), receivables (such as loans and deposits), shares (and partnership), agricultural produce and livestock.

The Prophet (peace and salutations be upon him) encouraged the rich amongst the Muslims to spend wealth freely and openly to assist their dependents and those in need. Similarly, he exhorted the poor and needy to abstain from begging, to become self-sufficient and work towards contributing to the society themselves. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The upper hand is better than the lower hand (i.e. the person he gives charity is better than he who receives it). One should commence giving first to his dependents. And the best object of charity is that which is dispensed by a wealthy individual (from the money which is left after his expenses). And whoever abstains from begging from others for some financial help, Allah will give him and save him from asking others, Allah will make him self-sufficient.” Likewise, Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “No doubt, it is better for an individual to take a rope and proceed in the morning to the mountains and cut the wood and then sell it, and eat from this income and give zakah (alms) from it than to ask others for something.”

However, the person giving zakah should not assert any superiority over the poor receiving it. The person given zakah should not be humiliated or disgraced. Hence, it is not necessary to inform the poor person that he is being given from the zakat. It is better to give the zakat to him in privacy and not in public. The Qur`an states, “…if you conceal it, and give it to the poor, that is better for you …” and that, “Do not make your charity void by boasting (and expressing superiority over others) and hurting (others).”The rich person should be grateful God found him a recipient of his zakah to discharge him of this responsibility.

The zakah funds should be used for a poor and needy Muslim who has no wealth whatsoever or very little wealth to the extent that he does not possess adequate food for one day. It is better to give zakat to a poor or needy person locally. However, it will be completely permissible and greatly rewarding to send zakah to another place where the poor people are:

  • one`s close relatives. The Prophet said, “Charity given to a relative it serves a double purpose, being both charity and a connecting link.” It must be noted that it is virtuous to spend zakat on one`s relatives; however, it is impermissible to give zakat to one’s ascendants (such as parents, maternal and paternal grandparents), descendants (such as one`s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) and spouse (husband or wife). Nevertheless, the person will be greatly rewarded on spending voluntarily on ascendants, descendants and spouse.
  • unjustly prisoned or undergoing court cases (and unable to cover expenses)
  • More deserving than local residents. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, “Blessed is the wealth of a Muslim from which he gives to the poor, to orphans and to needy travellers.”
  • Very wealthy at home; but, while on journey, all their money got exhausted somehow to such an extent that they now do not possess even adequate funds to reach home.
  • Engaged in religious activities. “One should seek out those pious people who have renounced the world and devoted themselves exclusively to the business of the Hereafter … The recipient should be chosen from among the people of learning, to support him in his quest for knowledge. Learning is the noblest form of worship, so long as it is based on right intention.” – Al-Ghazali.

I advise the readers to contact their own reliable local scholars in order to learn additional rulings on zakah, to find out the current nisab amount and to how they can calculate their zakah.

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Posted in General on 16th Jun 2016 by Our Imam | 2106 Views