Zakah

‘Prayer carries us half-way to God, fasting brings us to the door of His palace, and alms procure us admission.’

Zakah (welfare contribution) is the third pillar of Islam. The word Zakah means to ‘purify or cleanse’. Zakah is the name given in Islam to that portion of money or wealth which as per Allah’s command is given to the poor and the needy so that they become the owner of it. In other words, fasting and prayers are forms of bodily worship while Zakah is a form of worship which is pecuniary in nature.

Zakah provides us with the opportunity of sharing our excess wealth with those less fortunate than ourselves. In fact we and our wealth belong to Allah. He is the real owner and we merely are the trustees of His wealth.

Zakah is an act of Ibadah. Ibadah is an Arabic word which means ‘worship and obedience’. It includes all activities of life, if we do them to please Allah. We pay Zakah to gain Allah’s favour. We just do our duty as trustees if we pay Zakah as an obligatory part of Ibadah.

‘Alms giving’ is a command for a person who combines in himself the following conditions:

a) he is a Muslim; b) he is a free person; c) he is a major; d) he is the owner of Nisab (the minimum required capital free from all encumbrances and needs); e) one full year has passed since he came to exclusively possess the above said capital.

Zakah will become a command and an obligation if all the above conditions combine in a person.

Similarly, if a person has less capital with him than the minimum prescribed for Nisab, or he is under debt or else one full year has not elapsed since he came to possess so much wealth, Zakah is not command for him.

It is necessary to have the intention to pay the Zakah while giving it, or at least to earmark the portion for it. No Zakah shall be deemed to have been paid if the money is given to someone without intention to pay the Zakah and late to decide to count it as such.

‘Alms are to be given to the poor and the needy, and to those who collect them, and to those whose hearts are won to Islam, and for ransoms and for debtors, and for the cause of God, and for the wayfarer.’ (ix. 60)

The following categories of people can (legitimately) be given the Zakah money:

a) the first are fuqara, plural of faqir, which literally means ‘a man who is afflicted by a calamity.’ Apparently, it refers to disabled people who, on account of some defect, are unable to earn their living. b) the second are Masakin, plural of miskin i.e. one caused by poverty to have little power of motion. Miskin is one, who, though fit to earn sufficient, is unable to do so on account of poverty or lack of resources. The miskin is the needy man who if given a little help can earn livelihood for himself. The unemployed would fall in this category. c) A needy person, i.e. a person who has some belongings but they fall short of the minimum prescribed for Nisab; d) a pauper, i.e. a person who just has nothing; e) a debtor, namely, a person who owes debts to others and has no alms worthy capital free from encumbrances; f) a person, ‘on journey’ who has run short of money; g) It may also be given to assist a mukatib, or slave who is working in order to purchase his freedom and to persons who are too poor to go on a jihad or to make the Hajj.

Besides these, first preference should be given to one’s kin such as sister, brother, father-in-law, son-in-law, if they are deserving. Next in preference come one’s neighbours and the people of the town who deserve it more than others. Third preference should be given to those who serve the cause of Islam, such as students pursuing religious education.

The following persons are barred from receiving alms:

a) any well-to-do person, namely, a person on whom Zakah is due or such a one as has capital, over and above his actual needs provided it is equivalent in value to minimum prescribed for Nisab even though the capital is in the form of copper utensils (which are in themselves excluded from the lost of alms worthy capital); b) Descendant of the Prophet and Bani Hashim. The term bani applies to the descendants of Hadrat Harith bin Abdul Muttalib, Hadrat Jafar, Hadrat Aqil, Hadrat Abbas and Hadrat Ali are not allowed to receive Zakah; c) parents, grandparents and great grand parents of the person concerned; d) sons, daughters, grand children and great grand children of such a person; e) husband and wife can neither give alms to nor receive from each other; f) an unbeliever cannot be given Zakah; and g) minor children of a well-to-do person are also barred from receiving Zakah.

No one belonging to any one of the above categories is eligible to receive Zakah.

Zakah money cannot be spent on the following: items or things in which no person is likely to be the possessor or owner of the money so spent are not fit items for utilizing the Zakah money. Thus, no such money can be spent on the burial of the dead, liquidation of debt on behalf of a dead person, construction of a mosque or buying necessary accessories of the mosque as carpets, tumblers, water etc., for funeral expenses or to purchase a slave in order to set him free.