Zakat
Allah
says in Quran: 9:103 Of their goods, take
alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on
their behalf. Verily thy prayers are a source of security for them:
And Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth.
What is Zakat?
Giving
money for charity is highly commendable, and the sky is the limit,
but Zakat is different because it is obligatory and is given in a
calculated amount.
Zakat
represents the unbreakable bond between members of the community,
whom Prophet Mohammad described to be "like
the organs of the body, if one suffers then all others rally in
response." One of the most important principles of
Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore
held by human beings in trust. The
word zakat means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our possessions
are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and,
like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages
new growth.
Zakah
does not only purify the property of the contributor but also
purifies his heart from selfishness and greed. It also purifies the
heart of the recipient from envy and jealousy, from hatred and
uneasiness and it fosters instead good-will and warm wishes for the
contributors. As Muslims pay the Zakat they have the genuine feeling
that it is an investment and not a debit helping to establish
economic balance and social justice in the society. In general terms,
what remains over and above the meeting of needs and expenses, and is
hoarded for the full span of one year, is liable to Zakat.
Zakat
is the right of the poor in the wealth of the rich and is neither
optional charity nor philanthropy. Zakah has a deep humanitarian and
social-political value; for example, it frees society from class
welfare, from ill feelings and distrust and from corruption. Although
Islam does not hinder private enterprise or condemn private
possession, it does not tolerate selfish and greedy capitalism. Islam
adopts a moderate but positive and effective course between
individual and society, between the citizen and the state, between
capitalism and socialism, between materialism and spiritualism.
Most
people pay the Zakat in the last TEN Days of RAMADAN ( those days we
are living today ) because as our leader Mohammed ( peace be upon him
) informed us that those days resemble ITKUN MIN ALNAR ( to be far
from punished in the Judgement day - away from HELL ).
-----------------------------------------
Al-hamdu
lillah (all praise be to Allah). Al-Khiraqi (rahimahullah) said: "If
it (nisaab al-zakaat) is reached then a quarter of 1/10 is due upon
it and upon whatever exceeds it, no matter how small." Ibn
Qadama (rahimahullah) in explaining this statement said: "Meaning
that if the amount of silver has reached 200 and the dinars 20 (which
is the nisaab for gold in the units of mathaqeel then one is
obligated to pay zakaat upon it one quarter of 10 percent, as this
has been established by his (the Prophet's , peace be upon him)
saying 'for silver, one fourth of one tenth' " (Al-Mughni ma'a
al-sharh il-kabeer, 2/600)
As
for the meaning of the rest of the statement that what exceeds the
nisaab no matter how small, it means that 1/4 of 1/10 (i.e. 2.5%) is
also due upon this surplus difference. Thus, the overall meaning is
that if monetary wealth surpasses the amount of nisaab, then zakaat
is due upon it all, and not upon the surplus only, nor upon the
amount of nisaab only, but on the total. Note that zakaat must be
paid on the excess amount over nisaab, regardless of how small. This
is the opinion taken by Malik and al-Shaafi'I and jumhoor
al-ulemaa'.
The
value of the nisaab [the amount that determines whether zakaah is
obligatory; anyone who has more than this is obliged to pay zakaah]
for dollars or other currencies is whatever is equivalent to the
value of 20 mithqaals [a unit of measurement] of gold or 140
mithqaals of silver at the time when the zakaah is owed. It should be
based on whichever of the two works out better for the poor, because
the prices of gold and silver vary from time to time and from country
to country (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 9/257) and because
this will be more beneficial to the poor. (Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah, 9/254).
Given
that currently the price of silver is lower than the price of gold,
the nisaab should be based on the price of silver, so if a person’s
wealth (in paper money) reaches the nisaab on that basis, he has to
pay zakaah. The nisaab for silver is roughly equivalent to 595 grams
of silver, so the one who has wealth has to pay 2.5% or 25 out of
every 1,000 that he has in currency, after one year has passed). And
Allaah knows best.
Ibn
‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
made giving a saa’ of dates or a saa’ of barley as Zakaat
al-Fitr an obligation for all Muslims, slave and free, male and
female, young and old, and ordered that it should be given before the
people went out to pray (Salaat al-Eid).” (Al-Bukhaari,
1503).
Abu
Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “We
used to pay as Zakaat al-Fitr a saa’ of food or a saa’ of
barley (which was their food at that time) or a saa’ or dates or
a saa’ of aqit (dried yoghurt) or a saa’ of raisins.”
(1506)
From
this it is clear that Zakaat al-Fitr must be food, not money, so we
must adhere to what has been recorded in the Sunnah. So give one saa’
of whatever is the staple food in your country, such as rice or
wheat, for example, on behalf of yourself and each member of your
household. (A saa’ is equivalent to approximately 3 kilograms).
It is not permissible to give it to anyone except a needy Muslim. If
you cannot find anyone in your own country, you can delegate someone
else to give it on your behalf in another country. May Allaah help us
and you to do the duties that He loves. And Allaah knows best.
Nisaab
ul-Zakat for naqd (gold and silver) is defined as the minimum amount
of naqd specified by shari’a below which one is not required to
pay zakat, whereas if one’s wealth exceeds it then zakat becomes
incumbent.
And
it is known that zakat ul-maal (wealth) in shari’a is required
for the two types of naqd—gold and silver—and what serves
their function in modern times (commonly referred to as cash),
whether it is dollars or riyals or pounds or otherwise.
Nisaab
for gold as our Prophet (peace be upon him) has informed us
(and for currencies made from gold) is 20 mithqaalan, a measure which
is equivalent to 85 grams of pure gold (1 mithqaal = 4.25 grams). It
becomes incumbent upon anyone who owns such an amount in any form to
pay zakat on it in the amount of 2.5%.
Nisaab
for silver and currencies made from silver is 200 dirhams, which is
equivalent to 595 grams of pure silver (1 dirham = 2.975 grams).
Likewise, it becomes incumbent upon anyone who owns such an amount in
any form to pay zakat on it in the amount of 2.5%.
It
is well known that there is a noticeable disparity between the value
of nisaab for gold and that of silver in our times. The best and most
conservative for a poor person is to assess how many dollars he has
that have been in his possession for a complete lunar year (Hijri,
which is 354 days). If the amount reaches the value of nisaab for
silver or more, then he should pay from it for every 1000 dollars, 25
dollars (i.e., 2.5%) to be spent in the prescribed benficiaries as
specified by shari’ah, and we ask Allah to aid us and help us
succeed in haqq il-maal wa salla allahu ala nabiyyana muha.
Zakaah
is one of the pillars of Islam. If a person does not do it because he
does not believe that it is obligatory, the ruling should be
explained to him and if he persists, then he is a kaafir, and the
funeral prayer cannot be offered for him and he cannot be buried in
the Muslim graveyard. But if he does not pay zakaah because he is
stingy, but he believes that it is obligatory, then he is a sinner
who is guilty of a major sin and he is a wrong doer, but he is not a
kaafir. Therefore he should be washed (ghusl) and the funeral prayer
should be offered for him if he dies in this state, and his case will
be decided on the Day of Resurrection.
(Fataawaa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 9/184)
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