إن الحمد لله رب العالمين وأشهد أنه لا إله إلا هو وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمد عبده ورسوله الحمد لله الذي جعل للفقراء والمساكين حقًا في أموال الأغنيا فقد فرض الله سبحانه وتعالى الزكاة على المسلمين لتطهير أنفسنا وكسب الثواب العظيم في الحياة الدنيا وفي الآخرة أوصيكم ونفسي بتقوى الله عز وجل كما قال “يا أيها الذين أمنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger. May Allahs peace & blessing be on him & his family, his companions, and those who follow his Sunnah until the Day of Qiyaamah.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam. My Respected Brother’s: today my topic is Zakat: Allah created His servants and provided them sustenance and sufficed them. And ordained for them a religion to rightly set their affairs. We praise Him and are grateful to Him For He is the most deserving of gratitude. And produced for them the way to their happiness. For it is good for them in their circumstances and wealth.
Be conscious of Allah Almighty and obey Him. And take from your health for times of sickness. And from your leisure time for time of business. And from your life for your death. For the days pass by you to your graves. And you will not have except what you put forth. Allah tbw mentioned in Quran:
فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ * وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ
So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, (8) And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.
Oh people: Whoever reads the Quranic and Sunnah texts related to the five pillars of Islam, realizes their importance to people’s lives and wealth. For Islam was built upon them. And their completion and perfection was in the shariah of Mohammad ﷺ. And Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam. And it is linked with prayer in the Quran. And Abu Bakr (RA) fought those who withheld it. Through their refusal to pay it, he made their lives and wealth lawful. And the companions (RA) concurred with him in this regard. And from among the most important virtues of Abu Bakr (RA) is him fighting the apostates and those withholding zakat. And what he said became well known throughout the world:
والله لَأُقَاتِلَنَّ من فَرَّقَ بين الصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ فإن الزَّكَاةَ حَقُّ الْمَالِ والله لو مَنَعُونِي عَنَاقًا كَانُوا يُؤَدُّونَهَا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لَقَاتَلْتُهُمْ على مَنْعِهَا” البخاري: 7284 مسلم: 20
“By Allah, I will surely fight those who differentiate between prayer and Zakah, for Zakah is what is due on wealth. By Allah, if they withhold from me a small she-goat that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I will fight them for withholding it.” [al-Bukhari 7284, Muslim 20] And Allah did not ordain the Zakat except for people’s benefit. Otherwise, for He the Glorified is no need for them and their wealth. He obligated it to realize benefits for them.
Offering Zakat is a purification for the community. And purification and growing their wealth. And blessings follows it for performing this pillar of Islam.
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا التوبة:103
Take, from their wealth a charity to purify them and sanctify them with it. And if every person purified and blessed his wealth through offering Zakat the blessings would encompass all the people. And their sustenance would suffice them. And hunger, poverty and fear would be lifted from them. And Allah promised compensating those spending for what they spent:
ومَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ سبأ: 93
But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] – He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers. And if blessing is placed in something it multiplies by permission of Allah Almighty even if it seems like a little to the people. And if the blessing is removed it is wiped out even it seems like a lot to the people. And how much are people in need these days for the blessing in their sustenance and wealth that is not enough for them. Removing the rights of Allah from the wealth, whether obligatory or supererogatory, is the greatest way to bless it. And our Prophet Mohammad ﷺ informed us saying: ما نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ من مَال مسلم: 2588
Charity does not diminish wealth. [Muslim 2588]
And from the most important means of establishing security and removing fear and combatting crime is offering Zakat. Because it closes the gap between the poor and the wealthy. And many of the revolutions in the human history were ignited by poverty and hunger. And most crimes of theft, looting, burglary, banditry, fraud and forgery were, for the most part, committed initially out of need until criminality was embedded in the souls. And the moral crimes such as fornication and others take place initially due to poverty and hunger. Until the people performing it become accustomed to it and it becomes their occupation. And the Zakat closes this wide door of crimes and corruption if the people of wealth offer it as Allah Almighty commanded them. But greediness of the soul overcomes them and others. But if fear descends on a people it encompasses the poor and the rich. And in giving the zakat is spreading good morals, compassion and solidarity between individuals in a society. They feel the needs of one another. In contrast to the materialistic societies in which the individual only cares about himself and his business even if the rest of the people perished. And the compassionate society is promised the mercy of Allah Almighty as the Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّمَا يَرْحَمُ الله من عِبَادِهِ الرُّحَمَاءَ” البخاري:5655 مسلم:923
Indeed Allah has mercy on His compassionate servants. [al-Bukhari 5655, Muslim 923]
Warning for those who do not pay Zakāt: The Holy Quran also warns those who do not pay Zakāt that they shall be punished. ‘.. And woe to idolators who do not pay the Zakāt, and they are disbelievers in the hereafter.’ Fussilat 7. الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ Those who do not pay the Zakāt are called ‘idolators’ in the above verse and they have been warned in the following verse of the Holy Quran:
وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ۖ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ ۖ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allah has bestowed on them of His Bounty (Wealth) think that it is good for them (and so they do not pay the obligatory Zakat). Nay, it will be worse for them; the things which they covetously withheld shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Well-Acquainted with all that you do. (3.180).
Punishment for those who do not pay Zakat: Allah swt mentioned In the Qur’an: in the Chapter Al-Tauba 35. He says:
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لأِنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ
‘On the Day when that (Al-Kanz: money, gold and silver, etc., the Zakat of which has not been paid) will be heated in the Fire of Hell and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, (and it will be said unto them):-“This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of what you used to hoard.”
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ مَالاً، فَلَمْ يُؤَدِّ زَكَاتَهُ مُثِّلَ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ شُجَاعًا أَقْرَعَ، لَهُ زَبِيبَتَانِ، يُطَوَّقُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، ثُمَّ يَأْخُذُ بِلِهْزِمَتَيْهِ ـ يَعْنِي شِدْقَيْهِ ـ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ أَنَا مَالُكَ، أَنَا كَنْزُكَ " ثُمَّ تَلاَ وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ۖ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ ۖ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
Abu Hurayrah (Ra) reports: Allah’s Messenger (saw) said, “Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the Zakat of his wealth, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be made like a bald headed poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes. The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say, ‘I am your wealth, I am your treasure.’ “Then the Prophet recited the verses: And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allah has bestowed on them of His Bounty (Wealth) think that it is good for them (and so they do not pay the obligatory Zakat). Nay, it will be worse for them; the things which they covetously withheld shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Well-Acquainted with all that you do. (3.180). (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
What is Nisab?
The nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must possess before they become eligible to pay Zakat. This amount is often referred to as the nisab threshold.
Gold and silver are the two values used to calculate the nisab threshold. Therefore the nisab is the value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver.
Current Nisab threshold (as of 06/04/2022):
- Using value of silver (612.36 grams) – approximately £366.80
- Using value of gold (87.48 grams) – approximately £4,139.55
Zakat cannot be paid to some people or in certain sectors:
1. Who has a small amount of money.
2. Those who are Sayyid. 3. Zakat giver’s mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, great-grandfather, great-grandmother, etc. 4. Son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, granddaughter, etc. 5. Spouse of the zakat giver. 6. For construction work of mosque, madrasa or school, college, hospital etc. 7. Zakat money cannot be spent for burial of the deceased or recovery of debts of the deceased.
Those who can be given zakat:
1. Fakir, that is, those who do not have the amount of money to make zakat obligatory.
2. Miskin means those who are completely empty handed or who do not have the ability to earn a living.
3. If it is an Islamic state, the people in charge of its zakat fund.
4. and for to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined towards Islam.
5. and to free the captives.
6. Those who are burdened with debt.
7. Those who wage jihad against the enemies in the way of Allah.
8. If the traveler’s person (even if he is wealthy at home) becomes empty handed during the journey.
Those to whom it is better to pay Zakat:
1. If the one who reads and teaches religious knowledge is entitled to zakat, then it is best to give zakat to such a person.
2. Then the most deserving of receiving zakat are those among their close relatives who are most deserving of receiving zakat.
3. Then those among friends and neighbors who are eligible for zakat.
May Allah swt accept our all sadqah and Zakat. O’ Allah forgive our sins and the sins of our parents in the Day of Judgment. O’ Allah guide the Muslim youth to the path of Islaam, and honour Islaam and the Muslims. O Allah, guide us to the path of the Sunnah and protect us from misguidance and innovations. O Allah, increase us in beneficial knowledge and in righteous actions and give us pure good intentions. Ameen.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Date: 15/04/2022