Islam's Reformers .pdf

In Durr-i Yektâ, one of the most valuable Turkish ’ilm al-hâlbooks, it is written: “Of the four types of property of zakât, goldand silver and commercial goods are called al-amwâl al-bâtina(covered possessions). It is not permissible to investigatecovered possessions and to ask for their zakât. It has been leftto their possessors to estimate the amount of such possessionsand pay their zakât. The possessor is free to pay his zakât toany poor person he likes. The animals of zakât and farmproducts are called al-amwâl az-zâhira. It has not been left tothe owner to estimate the amount of al-amwâl az-zâhira and todistribute its zakât to the poor. These will be done by the ‘âmil,the official sent by the imâm of Muslims.”What men need and keep for use is a possession. A fewseeds of wheat, a spoonful of soil, a draught of water are notpossessions, since not all or some people keep them.If paper money would not be used with the value written onthem, they would be of no value, for these pieces of paper,when prohibited to be used as currency, would no longer be incirculation, become useless and would not be kept for use. Ibn’Âbidîn wrote on “Sarf” in his Radd al-muhtâr: “If flûs (coppercoin) is legal tender, it will be money worth the value written onit. If the value written on it is cancelled, it becomes worthless.”So is the paper money. He wrote on the thirteenth page, “Thepromissory note has two meanings; the value written on it andthe paper’s own value. The value written on it indicates thepossession which is dain, that is, one’s own possession whichone does not have with oneself. The paper’s own value is verylittle.” He wrote on the sixteenth page that the values written onthe notes or checks of salary that will be received from the Stateindicate one’s possessions that are dain. So are the values onpaper money.The zakât of one’s full possessions, that is, his propertywhich he is permitted and able to save or use, should be given.If they are not his full possessions, their zakât need not begiven. If the property of zakât is in his hands, it is called ’ain. Ifsomeone else keeps it, it is called dain. In trade, property is ’ainor dain under different conditions. Mabî’, goods that have beenbought, become one’s possesions after contract but it is notpermissible to use them before delivery. For this reason, thesegoods are not one’s full possessions before delivery. Theycannot be included in the calculation of zakât before delivery.- 208 -