Insha Marri's Blog

No doubt poverty is a menace and there is a need to eradicate it as soon as possible. It is one of major causes to unrest in the world. Islam is the only major religion in this world that has a system of paying Zakah to poor. It is obligation of every wealthy Muslim to must pay 2.5% of his wealth every year to poor and needy people.

Zakah (prescribed charity) is one of the pillars (basic tenets) of Islam. Literally, Zakah or Zakah means ‘to purify, to develop and cause to grow’, but as Shari’ah (Islamic law) term it is an act of monetary worship according to which every well-to-do Muslim who possesses property equal to or exceeding a laid down minimum, has to give away, at the prescribed rate, a portion of it to the deserving poor and needy people.

The payment of Zakah purifies and cleanses the remaining wealth, which is blessed by Allah this world and made to grow manifold in terms of rewards for the payer in the Hereafter. That is why this monetary worship has been termed Zakah as it purifies one’s wealth and causes it to grow in the Next World.

As mentioned above that Zakah is an important pillar of Islam and is placed just after Salat in the order of merit. The Holy Quran has mentioned them in the same sequence after Iman (Affirmation of Faith) and the Traditions of the Holy Prophet also confirm the same. According to Hadrat Abdullah ibn Abbas, when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) dispatched Hadrat Muadh ibn Jabal to Yemen as a governor, he instructed him thus:
“You are going to a people who were given a Divine Book. You should first of all invite them to the creed of Islam: ’There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah’. When they have affirmed this, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them to offer prayers five times a day; when they have affirmed this too, tell them that Allah has prescribed for them charity (Zakah), which will be collected from their rich people and distributed among their needy and indigent people’ when they have affirmed this too, you will take care not to extract from them their choicest things in Zakah ; and guard yourself against the curse of the oppressed for there is no curtain between the oppressed and his God”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

When a believer gives away a portion of his choice wealth willingly in the way of Allah only to win His approval, he experiences a pleasant purification of the heart, which in the process is rid of the wordily loves and greed and filled instead with freshness, grace and purity of Divine love. To discharge Zakah dues promptly is indeed a proof o one’s love of Allah and also an effective and authentic means of its cultivation and growth.

Zakah should not be considered merely as device of ameliorating the lot of the poor and distributing the wealth equitably, but it is an important form of worship prescribed by Allah, which is necessary for cleansing one’s heart and soul and developing one as a sincere, righteous and grateful servant of the Lord. Legally, Zakah is deemed to have been discharged when a well-to-d0 person has taken out for distribution among their poor a portion of his wealth according to the prescribed rate, when a full year has passed over the wealth. But Zakah is not simply that. It is a Divinely prescribed way of cleansing one’s heart of all kinds of worldly greed and material loves and inculcating love of Allah and preparing one to expend all one’s physical and mental capabilities in the way of Allah for the sake of one’s spiritual development and satisfaction. That is why the Shari’ah has prescribed an exemption limit and enjoined the Muslims to give away a portion of their property for the deserving poor, but has at the same time exhorted that they should not remain content with expending the bare minimum, but should cultivate the habit of spending money, over and above that, in the way of Allah. The practice of the Holy Prophet and his Companions fully confirms this.

The utmost importance of Zakah in Islam is borne out by the fact that the Quran has mentioned Salat (prescribed daily prayers) and Zakah together at about 32 places as two of the foremost duties of the Muslims after their affirmation of Faith. Thus, a person who carries out these two duties duly can be regarded as having fulfilled all his religious obligations. A person, who presents his body and soul in the spirit of complete obedience before his God inside the mosque, cannot be expected to ignore the rights of God outside the mosque. Similarly the persons, who experiences satisfactions of the heart in the benevolent act of giving away a portion of his choice wealth in the way of Allah only win His approval, cannot be expected to ignore and violate the rights of his fellowmen in the least. That is why the Quran had presented Islam as combination of Salat and Zakah and a testimony of one’s real faith in Islam.

The institution of Zakah aims to root out the love and greed of the world from the believer’s heart and to inculcate in it the pure love of Allah. This happens when the believer does not rest content with the payment of Zakah dues only but is imbued with the spirit nobody can ever have the feelings of love and sympathy for his fellow-men merely for the sake of Allah, nor can one be sensitive and generous to recognize the rights of Allah and fulfill them as faithfully as one should. The institution of Zakah is a means of cleansing the Muslim society of stinginess, parsimony, malice, jealousy, hard-heartedness and exploitation of others and of inculcating and developing pure and noble feelings of love, sacrifice, goodness, sincerity, well-wishing co-operation and companionship. That is precisely why Zakah had been enjoined as an imperative duty on the community of every Prophet, though its rate and other conditions and legal injunctions have been different for different communities.

Just imagine, if Bill Gates and many wealthy like him would agree to pay Zakah for the eradication of poverty in the world. I think then there would be no individual left in this world to not benefit from the distribution of Zakah and can live a life of man with an honor.