Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | MANIFESTATIONS OF HYPOCRISYas a gift in an amount determined by the one who distributes it, but rather its amountis properly calculated. It is a major Islamic duty collected by the state in order to fulfila particular social service. The one who gives it does not hold a favour for doing so,and the beneficiary does not have to beg for it. No, the Islamic social system couldnever be based on begging.The basis of the Islamic system is work, in all its various ways. It is the duty of theMuslim state to make sure that anyone who is able to work has a job. It shouldprovide training opportunities, and it should take the necessary measures for jobcreation. Furthermore, it should ensure that those who work receive fair wages.Those who are able to work have no claim to zakāt, because zakāt is a social securitytax that functions between those who are able and those who are deprived. The stateadministers its collection and distribution when any society runs its affairs on thebasis of Islam, putting God’s law into effect, seeking no law or social system otherthan that devised by God.`Abdullāh ibn `Umar quotes the Prophet as saying: “Charity is not lawful to begiven to anyone who is rich or to anyone who is strong and fit.” Two men came tothe Prophet and asked him to give them a share of zakāt. When he looked at themcarefully, he found them strong and able. He said to them: “If you wish I will giveyou, but you should know that no one who is rich or able to work and earn has anyclaim to a share in it.”Zakāt is a branch of the Islamic system of social security, and this system is farwider and more comprehensive than zakāt, because it works along several lines thatcomprise all aspects of life and all sides of human ties. Zakāt is only an important oneof these lines.Zakāt is collected at the rate of one-tenth, or a half or a quarter of one-tenth of theprincipal property, depending on the type of property held. It is collected fromeveryone who owns more than the threshold of zakāt when a year has passed sincehe or she has had that threshold. This means that most members of the communitymake their contribution to the Zakāt Fund. The proceeds are then spent according tothe system outlined in the verse we are discussing. The first groups of itsbeneficiaries are the poor and the needy. The poor are those who have less than whatthey need to live on. The needy are also in the same position, but they do not showtheir need or ask for help.Some among the people who qualify as zakāt payers and pay their zakāt one yearmay find their position has changed the following year. Their property may havedecreased and they may not have enough for their needs. Thus they qualify as zakātbeneficiaries. Some may not have ever paid any zakāt but they nevertheless qualify asbeneficiaries. In both these cases we see zakāt as a means of social security. However,154