Author: Sayyed Musleh Uddin
Alms [Zakat] (Part 15)
Delegating Zakat on Internal Assets to Their Owners
Due to the jihad and perseverance of Hazrat Abu Bakr (MABH), the situation remained the same, and Zakat assets of all kinds were handed over to the Treasury until the caliphate of Hazrat Usman (MABH). During his time, he allowed Zakat on internal assets (gold and silver) to be given directly to the deserving, enabling the owners of these assets to do so without the necessity of handing it over to the Treasury. However, Zakat on external assets, which consisted of animals, fields, and gardens, still needed to be submitted to the Treasury.
Imam Abu Bakr Jassas Al-Razi (MABH) comments: “Zakat assets were initially handed over to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Abu Bakr, and Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). However, during the caliphate of Hazrat Usman (MABH), he delivered a speech stating: ‘This is the month of paying your Zakat, and whoever is in debt should first pay off his debt, then purify his other property and pay Zakat.’ Hazrat Usman (MABH) entrusted the payment of Zakat to the needy and the poor, abolishing the Imam’s right to collect it. This ruling was issued by an Imam among the just leaders and is implemented in the Ummah according to the Hadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) who said: ‘And the Imam should rule over their property.'”
Failure to Implement the Zakat System by Islamic Governments and Its Punishment in the World
The Islamic Caliphate, in its various forms, adhered to the collection of Zakat on apparent property. As can be seen from the book Al-Kharaj by Imam Abu Yusuf (MABH) and other texts written on this topic at different times, this practice continued until the end of the Abbasid Caliphate. Eventually, this structure was largely dismantled in Islamic governments that failed to implement the Sharia system and its rulings, thereby destroying the legacy of the Prophetic Caliphate in terms of moral methods, social characteristics, and financial and economic policies. As a result, the turmoil and troubles that we observe in the lives of Muslims in Islamic countries arose, depriving the Muslim Ummah of the blessings of implementing and applying Sharia and Islamic laws according to their correct methodology: «وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَى دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ» Translation: “And We will certainly make them taste the nearer punishment (in this world) than the greater punishment (in the Hereafter) that they may return.”
Zakat as the Lowest Level of Charity and Compassion
Zakat, as legislated in Islam, is the minimum level of charity and compassion in the property of Muslims and their wealth. It is an obligation for which Allah Almighty does not accept substitutes. Islamic law has commanded it with determination and seriousness, establishing it as a condition of Islam, a hallmark of being a Muslim, and a pillar of the fundamental tenets of the faith: «فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ» Translation: “So if they repent and establish prayer and give Zakat, then they are your brothers in religion.”
Anyone who denies Zakat and deliberately refuses to pay it out of obstinance has stepped outside the circle of Islam and has severed ties with the Islamic Ummah. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (MABH), regarded as the best person after the Prophet (PBUH) and the most knowledgeable in religious matters, fought against such individuals, and the Companions also unanimously supported him on this issue.
Rights Other Than Zakat on Wealth
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) acknowledged the diversity of tastes and tendencies in his personal and social life. He emphasized charity, compassion, and fulfilling one’s duties as exemplary human behaviors. With clarity and miraculous brevity that surpassed the speeches of orators and the explanations of scholars, he conveyed his teachings: «إنّ فِى المَالِ حَقّاً سِوَى الزَّكَاةِ» Translation: “Indeed, there are rights in wealth other than Zakat.”
Imam Tirmidhi (MABH) narrated, citing a chain of narration from Fatimah bint Qais (MABH), that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked about Zakat, and he responded: “There are rights in wealth other than Zakat.” He recited this verse: «لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخر وَالْمَلائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيل وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاء والضَّرَّاء وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ» Translation: “It is not all goodness to turn your faces towards the east and the west; rather, righteousness is the one who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scriptures and the Messengers, and spends his wealth out of love for kin, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer, the suppliant, for freeing slaves, establishes prayer, and gives Zakat. And those who fulfill their covenants when they make them, and those who are patient in hardship and during the time of war. Those are the ones who are truthful, and they are the righteous.”
The Prophet’s Special Viewpoint on Life and Wealth
The conduct of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) concerning the wealth that Allah Almighty bestowed upon him and his family was exemplary in terms of doing good and showing love to his family. He said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family.”
His interactions with his closest and most beloved people reflect the Prophet’s unique perspective on wealth and on all aspects of life. His views are so profound that dictionaries and lexical resources are insufficient to capture their essence. The use of dry economic terminology fails to reflect the sublimity, grandeur, and purity of the Prophet’s character.
This is the perspective of someone who always remembers the greatness of Allah, adorned with divine morals, and who constantly envisions the Last Day: «يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَال وَلَا بَنُونَ * إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سليمٍ.» Translation: “The Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except for those who come to Allah with a sound heart.”
The Prophet’s longing for the Hereafter surpassed the longing of a fish for water and a bird for its nest. His heart echoed the sentiment: «اللهم لاعيش إلا عيش الآخرة» Translation: “O Allah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter.”
To the Prophet (PBUH), worldly possessions held no value. He regarded people as being dependent on Allah Almighty and saw himself as a guardian of orphans. He preferred happiness, prosperity, and comfort for others, while embracing poverty, hunger, asceticism, and hardship for his own family. He would say: “One day I am full, and the next day I am hungry,” and prayed: “O Allah! Provide the family of Muhammad with enough for one day.”
He conveyed this divine message to his wives, communicating a sentiment that aligned with his desires and made him joyful: «يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِأَزْوَاجِكَ إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلاً وَإِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْمُحْسِنَاتِ مِنكُنَّ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا» Translation: “O Prophet, say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and provide you a good release. But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter, then indeed, Allah has prepared for the righteous women among you a great reward.”
They preferred a life with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) over one with their fathers and brothers, who lived in comfort and ease.
Continues…
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