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Zakat (Tax): Difference between revisions
Added verse listing the categories and last section needed improvement.
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==Recipients== | ==Recipients== | ||
It is obligatory to distribute [[zakat]] among eight different categories of recipients, based on a verse in the Qur'an: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|60}}|Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.}} | |||
===Non-Muslims=== | ===Non-Muslims=== | ||
There is scholarly consensus (ijma`) that [[non-Muslims]] are not among those who are to benefit.<ref>Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, [http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1527&CATE=5 <!-- Back up http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fqa.sunnipath.com%2Fissue_view.asp%3FHD%3D1%26ID%3D1527%26CATE%3D5&date=2011-10-02 -->"Zakat Cannot Be Given To Non-Muslims"], SunniPath Q&A, July 3, 2005</ref><ref>Muhammed Zakariyya Desai, [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=e01c5dcc9256165fc5b55997b66a482e|2=2011-10-17}} "Imam of our Masjid has given Fatwa that Zakat can be given to non muslims"], Ask Imam, Fatwa No. 15407, July 22, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=984|title= The way of giving Zakat al-Fitr in non-Islamic Lands|publisher= IslamicAwakening|author= Haytham bin Jawwad al-Haddad|series= Article ID: 984|date= November 20, 2002|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=984&date=2011-05-09|deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Ed., Trans.), [http://www.shafiifiqh.com/maktabah/relianceoftraveller.pdf "Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law"], sections; h8.7, h8.14, h8.24.</ref> This has led to mainstream Islamic charities, like Islamic Relief, almost exclusively focusing their humanitarian work in Muslim majority nations or areas in non-Muslim countries which are heavily populated by Muslim minorities.<ref>For an in-depth discussion of this issue, refer to "[http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Articles/Islamic-Relief.htm Islamic Relief and the Myth of Non-Discriminating Muslim Charity]"</ref> In the aftermath of the 2010 [[Pakistan]] floods, many Christian survivors were denied aid supplied by Muslim charities for this very reason.<ref>[http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7460 Pakistan: some Christians denied aid unless they convert to Islam] - Catholic Culture, September 6, 2010</ref> | |||
On the other hand, it is permissible to give sadaqah (regular, voluntary charity, not the obligatory zakat) to poor non-Muslims, on the preconditions that they "have not carried out any hostile actions against the Muslims" and that the charity is provided only "to soften their hearts towards Islam".<ref>Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, [{{Reference archive|1=http://islamqa.com/en/ref/21384|2=2011-10-02}} "Giving zakaah to kaafirs"], Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 21384</ref> | On the other hand, it is permissible to give sadaqah (regular, voluntary charity, not the obligatory zakat) to poor non-Muslims, on the preconditions that they "have not carried out any hostile actions against the Muslims" and that the charity is provided only "to soften their hearts towards Islam".<ref>Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, [{{Reference archive|1=http://islamqa.com/en/ref/21384|2=2011-10-02}} "Giving zakaah to kaafirs"], Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 21384</ref> | ||
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===Jihadists=== | ===Jihadists=== | ||
One of the | One of the eight purposes of zakat is "in the cause of Allah" (fi sabilillah). This is widely interpreted in Islamic jurisprudence, but invariably includes jihad. In the classic manual of Shafi'i fiqh it is for "those fighting for Allah, meaning people engaged in Islamic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the army roster (but who are volunteers for jihad without remuneration)."<ref>Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Ed., Trans.), [http://www.shafiifiqh.com/maktabah/relianceoftraveller.pdf "Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law"], sections; h8.7, h8.17.</ref><ref>Imam's Corner, [{{Reference archive|1=http://islam1.org/iar/imam/archives/2004/12/30/zakatulmal_zakat.php|2=2011-10-14}} "Zakat-ul-mal (Zakat)"], The Islamic Association of Raleigh, December 30, 2004</ref><ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/209643 IslamQA]</ref> There have been numerous cases of Islamic charities all over the world funding [[terrorism]].<ref>One example is the ''World Assembly of Muslim Youth'' which was [{{Reference archive|1=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/06/canadian-muslim-youth-organization-loses-charitable-status/|2=2012-03-12}} stripped of its charitable status] after a ''Canada Revenue Agency'' investigation linked it to a Saudi-based group that financed Islamic terror campaigns by al-Qaeda, but there are literally dozens of other examples easily found via a Google search.</ref> | ||
An example of modern-day conflicts where those who are participating are considered in Islam to be fighting in "the Way of Allah" and where "zakat must be spent", include, "[[Palestine]], [[Kashmir]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Chad]], [[Somalia]], Cyprus, Samarqand, Bukhara, Tashkent, [[Uzbekistan]], Albania and several other occupied countries."<ref>Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Fiqh az-Zakat: A Comparative Study</ref><ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/international-relations-and-jihad/jihad-rulings-and-regulations/174504-spending-zakah-money-on-jihad.html?Regulations=|2=2011-10-13}} "Spending Zakah Money on Jihad"], IslamOnline, March 9, 2011</ref> | An example of modern-day conflicts where those who are participating are considered in Islam to be fighting in "the Way of Allah" and where "zakat must be spent", include, "[[Palestine]], [[Kashmir]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Chad]], [[Somalia]], Cyprus, Samarqand, Bukhara, Tashkent, [[Uzbekistan]], Albania and several other occupied countries."<ref>Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Fiqh az-Zakat: A Comparative Study</ref><ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/international-relations-and-jihad/jihad-rulings-and-regulations/174504-spending-zakah-money-on-jihad.html?Regulations=|2=2011-10-13}} "Spending Zakah Money on Jihad"], IslamOnline, March 9, 2011</ref> | ||
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====Donation and Taxation==== | ====Donation and Taxation==== | ||
When considering compulsory taxation in most non-Islamic nations, it is charged on certain goods and is taken by the state from individual yearly earnings and then in part distributed to those within the state who are unemployed, or other public services, such as the state's military services. In essence, this tax functions | When considering compulsory taxation in most non-Islamic nations, it is charged on certain goods and is taken by the state from individual yearly earnings and then in part distributed to those within the state who are unemployed, or other public services, such as the state's military services. In essence, this tax functions similarly to zakat, with the state distributing portions of the tax revenue for welfare purposes in accordance with the benevolent values of the society. | ||
Like taxes, zakat is a fard (obligatory) requirement from Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. It is levied on five categories of property—[[food]] grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.<ref name="EBZT"></ref> | Like taxes, zakat is a fard (obligatory) requirement from Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. It is levied on five categories of property—[[food]] grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.<ref name="EBZT"></ref> | ||
The collection and expenditure of this zakat throughout Islam's history has been a function of the state. The compulsory payment was collected and distributed by the state under the Prophet [[Muhammad]], the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s, the later Caliphate, and is even collected and distributed by the state in some theocracies today (for example, [[Saudi Arabia]]).<ref name="EBZT"></ref> | The collection and expenditure of this zakat throughout Islam's history has been a function of the state. The compulsory payment was collected and distributed by the state under the Prophet [[Muhammad]], the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s, the later Caliphate, and is even collected and distributed by the state in some theocracies today (for example, [[Saudi Arabia]]).<ref name="EBZT"></ref>. | ||
Thus a full implementation of zakat via a state apparatus makes it, in all but name, a tax. In countries where zakat is not enforced and administered by the state, an individual Muslim decides which specific causes to support, and such activity can more clearly be described as (obligatory) charitable giving. This is not to doubt the great generosity of spirit and charitable intentions of individual Muslims giving zakat. | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||