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Zakat
12/1/1998
- Social Economic Religious - Article Ref: RI9812-285
Number of comments: 4
By: Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Renaissance Islamic Journal* - Vol. 8 Nos. 11-12
And [in the daytime and at night] establish regular prayers and pay Zakat
and [for the cause of your religion and state] lend to Allah a
befitting loan, and remember whatever good you send forth for
yourselves you shall find it with Allah better than before and greater
in reward. (73:20)
In the verse quoted above, and at numerous other
places in the QurÕan, Muslims are directed to pay Zakat
from their wealth. In religious parlance, Zakat means the wealth
given in the way of Allah to obtain purity of heart and to obtain the
blessings of Allah. The root of the word Zakat, in Arabic, has
two meanings "purity" and "growth". The words
"purify them" in the first and "people who will increase
their wealth" in the second verse of the QurÕan quoted
below allude to these two meanings of the word:
Take alms from their wealth [O Prophet!] in order to cleanse them and
purify them with it. (9:103)
And that which you give as loan on interest in order that may
increase on other peopleÕs wealth has no increase with Allah; but
that which you give as Zakat, seeking AllahÕs countenance, it
is these people who will increase their wealth [in the Hereafter].
(30:39)
Subsequently, this word was specifically used for the
wealth a Muslim gives to those in authority to meet the collective
requirements of a state. It is evident from the QurÕan that
like Salat (prayer), Zakat has always remained an
essential ingredient of the Shari'ah given to the Prophets of
Allah. When the Almighty directed the Muslims to pay Zakat, it
was not an unknown thing to them. All the followers of the religion of
Abraham (sws) were well aware of its philosophy as well as its rates and
statutory exemptions. Consequently, there was no need to state the
details of Zakat in the QurÕan. It was a pre-existing Sunnah
which the QurÕan only revived and which the Prophet (sws),
on the AlmightyÕs bidding, established as a directive of he Shari'ah
among the Muslims. If, irrespective of the differences of the
Jurists in understanding the concept of Zakat, the details of
this directive which have reached us through the consensus of the
Companions of the Prophet (sws) and their practical perpetuation, and
which now stand validated through the consensus of the Ummah are
studied as regards their bases in the Shari'ah, then they can be
stated as:
1. Items
Nothing except means of production, personal items of
daily use and a fixed quantity called nisab are exempt from Zakat.
It shall be levied annually on wealth of al sorts, livestock of all
types and production of all forms of every Muslim citizen who is liable
to it. However, if some need arises, an Islamic State can give
relaxation on any item.
2. Nisab
The statutory exemptions in wealth, livestock and
agricultural production are fixed as:
(a) Wealth: 5 ounces / 612 grams of silver or
its equivalent.
(b) Production: 5 Wasaqs / 1119 kilograms of
dates or their equivalent.
(c) Livestock: 5 camels, 30 cows, 40 goats.
3. Rates
(a) Wealth: 2 ð% annually
(b) Production: (i) 5 %: on all items which
are produced both by the interaction of labor and capital, (ii) 10 % on
items which are produced such that the basic factor in producing them is
either labor or capital and (iii) 20% on items which are produced
neither as a result of capital nor labor but actually are a gift of God.
(c) Livestock:
(i) CAMELS
--- From 5 to 24: one she-goat on every five camels.
--- From 25 to 35: one one-year old she-camel or in
its absence one, two-year old camel.
--- From 36 to 45: one two-year old she-camel.
--- From 46 to 60: one three-year old she-camel.
--- From 61 to 75: one four-year old she-camel.
--- From 76 to 90: two two-year old she-camels.
--- From 91 to 120: two three-year old she-camels.
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--- Over 120: one two-year old she-camel on every
forty camels and one three year old on every fifty camels.
(ii) COWS
--- one one-year old calf on every thirty cows and
one two-year old calf on every forty cows.
(iii) GOATS
--- From 40 to 120: one she-goat.
--- From 121 to 200: two she-goats.
--- From 200 to 300: three she-goats.
--- Over 300: one she-goat on every hundred goats.
4. Heads
The heads in which Zakat is to be spent were
never unclear. It was always expended on the poor and needy and on the
collective requirements of the Muslims. However, when the hypocrites in
the time of the Prophet (sws) raised certain doubts about these heads,
the QurÕan unequivocally stated them:
Zakat is only for the poor and the needy, and for those who are
Ôamils over it, and for those whose hearts are to be
reconciled [to the truth], and for the emancipation of the slaves and
for those who have been inflicted with losses and for the way of Allah
and for the welfare of the wayfarers. An obligation decreed by the
Almighty, the All-Knowing and the Wise. (9:60)
Here are some details of the heads of Zakat mentioned
in this verse:
(a) The poor and the needy.
(b) al-'aamilina 'alayha:*
the salaries of all the administrative officials of the state .
(c) al-mu'allafat-i-qulubuhum: all political
expenditures in the interest of Islam and the Muslims.
(d) Fi al-riqab: For liberation from slavery
of all kinds.
(e) Gharimin: For helping people who are
suffering economic losses, or are burdened with a fine or a loan.
(d) Fi sabilillah: For serving Islam and for
the welfare of the citizens.
(e) Ibn al-sabil: For helping travelers and
for the construction of roads, bridges and rest houses.
This is all as far as the Shari'ah regarding Zakat
is concerned. However, since there exist some general misconceptions
about it, the following points must remain in consideration:
Firstly, there is no basis in the QurÕan and
Sunnah for the condition of personal-possession (tamlik-i-dhati)
imposed by our jurists. Therefore, just as Zakat can be given in
the personal possession of an individual, it can also be spent on
projects of his welfare**.
Secondly, if the basis of the directive is taken in
consideration, industrial produce of all forms, production of all forms
based on various skills, rent of various items or buildings of all forms
and fees of all forms obtained in various ventures must be classified as
produce and not as wealth; therefore, their rates and nisab should
be those specified by the Prophet (sws) for land produce.
Thirdly, according to the above mentioned principle, Zakat
on leased-out houses, properties and other rented items should be
10% of the rent and if they are not rented out, it should be 2 1/2 % of
their market value.
Fourthly, the nisab of all items which are
analogously linked such as those above, can be fixed by the state if
need be by analogy with the ones specified.
*. This is because
state servants in reality collect Zakat and disburse it in its
heads (al-'aamilina 'ala akhdh al-dara'ib wa raddiha il al-masarif).
Consequently, this is a very subtle expression the Qur'an has
adopted here to convey its purport. No doubt, that generally people have
not been able to comprehend this expression; however the construction I
have referred to above of this expression unfolds this meaning upon very
little deliberation.
**. For a detailed
discourse on this topic please see "Mas'alah i Tamlik' in IslahiÕs
'Tawdihat'.
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