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Zakat
Zakat comes from the root verb zaka (z-k-y), 'he
cleansed' or 'he purified'. Its meaning is to purify one's wealth (under the five category
headings of 'gold and silver', 'trading goods', 'agricultural
products', 'livestock', 'minerals') that has lain idle
for one year (the hawl) according to certain set percentages
levied on particular quantities above a fixed minimum
(the nisab). It is important to stress that the nisab
relates to idle wealth: you do not tot up your total
value or the turn-over of your business and pay zakat
upon that. There must have been no 'movement' at all
of wealth or stock during the hawl; one transaction
is sufficient to 'start the clock' again for another
year. It is an obligatory impost upon every individual
wealth-owning Muslim freeman and freewoman. It is to
be distributed to qualifiers from eight categories
stipulated in the Quran [see Briefing Paper The Eight Recipients]. It may be paid at any time
of the year. The only crucial date is arrival at the
hawl. One does not wait until Ramadan to pay if the
hawl has been reached; in fact, one must not. It must
not be confused with Sadaqatu-l Fitr, which is sometimes
known as Zakatu-l Fitr thereby contributing to some
confusion. It is paid to a Collector (the Amil) who
is a public official from the Baytu-l Mal: in the absence
of the proper authorities to appoint a Collector (i.e. an Office that ultimately had derived its authority by due and legitimate means from the Caliphate: for the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and the Republic of Ireland this would have to be the Office of the Shaykhu-l Islam of the British Isles, currently in abeyance; or one deriving its legitimacy from this, such as an Eire Shaykhu-l Islam operating in Dublin by residuary sovereignty), the
office devolves on the local community and he becomes
a parish mosque official. Of course, in the absence
of such an official (or even of a parish mosque), it
is up to the individual to seek out suitable persons
to receive his or her zakah. It must be disbursed first
of all to the eight categories in the local area; if
there be none qualified to receive it, then it may
be given out in the wider area of the county, province
or state; then on a country-wide basis. Only if there
be none to receive it in that area may it be sent abroad.
The Sadah (the Family of the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him and his family) from the Bani Hashim and
Bani Mutallib may not receive Zakat, only Sadaqah.
The Shi'ah levy a special tax, the khums (or "fifth"),
for paying to the Sadah.
Sadaqatu-l Fitr
Sadaqatu-l Fitr (or Zakatu-l Fitr) is liable upon each
Muslim who has food which he estimates is more than
he needs for himself and his dependents on the Eve
of Eidu-l Fitr and its early morning, and is to be
given to someone who is entitled to receive it. Its
purpose is so that the poor of the parish can also
enjoy the Eid by having enough food and new clothing
to make a festival. It is not for collecting and sending
abroad: that is the role of sadaqah. It is obligatory
upon Muslim persons who have participated in a portion
of Ramadan and are present in the parish on the First
of Shawwal, and who have more than is needed by the
Head of the Household (pater familias) and his dependents on the Eve
and early morning of Eidu-l Fitr. It must be paid by
the Head of the Household on behalf of all his dependents
before the first takbirah of the Eid Prayer. Some authorities
exclude adult male Muslim freemen of the household,
making the liability theirs individually, and not the
Head of the Household's. Only in the cases of a Muslim
convert woman from a non-Muslim household, or of a
Muslim woman with no male relatives, should a woman
act as though she were the Head of the Household and
disburse sadaqatu-l fitr herself. It may be paid at
any time during Ramadan after the first Tarawih Prayer:
however, the best time, that is the Sunnah, is to pay
it after the Fajr Prayer and before the Eid Prayer
on Eidu-l Fitr. The quantity of the liability is 1
Sa' Baghdadi per person from some commonly accepted
staple foodstuff of the community (such as wheat flour).
A Sa' Baghdadi is equal to 2.335 Kilograms or 5lbs
2.5ozs. The Shafi'i madh'hab requires that it be given
by the donor direct to the recipient, as foodstuff;
whereas the Hanafi madh'hab allows it to be collected
by the Amil from the Parish Mosque, either as foodstuff
or as its monetary value, and distributed by the Mosque
officials (they may also sell the foodstuff and distribute
the money instead). A fatwa of the Malaysian mufti
Shaykh Shamsuddin Ramli, in 1990, holds that it is
permissible for adherents of the Shafi'ite madh'hab
to follow the Hanafi madh'hab in this matter, especially
when living in Western or Hanafi countries. In the
giving of Sadaqatu-l Fitr it is necessary to make a
specific intention (niyyah) to donate (e.g. "this
is my sadaqatu-l fitr for me and mine for this year
for Allah Almighty"). It is not to be confused
with Zakat (or Sadaqah).
Sadaqah
Sadaqah is a verbal noun from the verb s-d-q (sadaqa,
yasduqu, sadq or sidq) 'he spoke the truth',
'he was sincere', 'he kept, or fulfilled, his promise'.
It is a demonstration of the truth or trustworthiness
of one's shahadah; in other words, it is a show of
whether one is lying or telling the truth when one
makes the tashahhud. It may be given to anyone of any
religion at all at any time, and in fact some should
be given every day at least. A hadith states that
even a smile is sadaqah, and another that removing
a stone from the path is also sadaqah. In this latter
case, one must observe the proper adab towards the
stone: one must pick it up as though it were a human
being and place it to one side respectfully, not use
one's foot or toss it aside casually, for Allah Almighty
has chosen to bracket stones with mankind: "so
fear the Fire whose fuel is mankind and stones"
(fattaqu-n naara-llatee waqouduha-n naasu wa-l hijaarah)
(Quran, Souratu-l Baqarah, 2:24). Another hadith tells
that "if anything can change the Decree it is
sadaqah". Through sadaqah one demonstrates the
trustworthiness of everything that is implied in the
testimony, that one makes many times a day, of pretended
belief in the Unity of the Almighty and in the Message
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be
upon him and his family. Through sadaqah one shows
that one truly accepts what was brought in the Message,
and one truly accepts the responsibilities that go
with it for the whole of mankind and the rest of Creation,
if one truly aspire to khilafatu-Llah fi-l ard [see
Briefing Paper Khilafah]. It is a statement
of awareness that the Almighty has been generous to
one in providing one's rizq and that this places an
obligation on one to care for those of Creation less
fortunate than oneself. There are so many means of
paying sadaqah. If one be able to donate money, there
are so many people asking for it, and in particular,
there are so many little boxes all over the United
Kingdom collecting for the Blind, for the Deaf, for
Life Boats, for the sufferers of Cerebral Palsy, for
Guide Dogs for the Blind and Deaf, for the limbless
ex-servicemen, for the soldiers' sailors' and airmens'
families, and so on. Do not chain your hand to your
neck in niggardliness.
It is sadaqah which one gives to the various agencies
claiming to be looking after the needy and distressed
in Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Sanjak, Kosova, Chechenia, or wherever.
They have no right to sadaqatu-l fitr, and only to
zakat after the eight recipients in the local areas
have been dealt with except for jihad fi sabeeli-Llah
(and there are stringent conditions which apply in
this case, which few, if any, of them meet). We are
cautioned by the Almighty to "look at the messenger"
first, and not gullibly believe whatever patter we
are given by people coming to one with 'news' or some
other line. Particularly as the Muslim communities
in the United Kingdom are beset at the moment with
many fraudsters and confidence tricksters, it is preferable
that any such monies be given only to respectable and
established charities. And in the absence of a Muslim
charity of that nature collecting in one's area, then
it is preferable to give to an established non-Muslim
charity. Some would even prefer to give to such a charity
anyway, given the many questions that have arisen about
several Muslim-run charities, until the Muslims have
put their collective house in order, or Her Majesty's
Charity Commissioners do it for them.
wa-Llahu a'lam bi-s sawab wa mina-Llahi-t tawfeeq wa-l
hidayah