{"id":4405,"date":"2025-10-27T09:36:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T09:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qawl.com\/?p=4405"},"modified":"2025-10-27T10:53:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:53:43","slug":"the-obligation-of-zakat-its-recipients-and-its-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qawl.com\/?p=4405&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The Obligation of Zakat, Its Recipients, and Its Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In no circumstance can a person give something without expecting something in return, whether later or beforehand. Even love between two people cannot thrive unless both hearts burn equally with affection; and how miserable is one-sided love, where a person longs to be freed from the torment of emotional attachment and unhealthy dependence. <\/p>\n\n

Even volunteer work without material reward is not entirely free from expectation \u2014 the volunteer still hopes for moral appreciation, symbolic recognition, or public acknowledgment. <\/p>\n\n

This return may come later, when one gives in hope of a promised reward or future compensation \u2014 and if it is withheld, resentment and hostility arise. Or it may come beforehand, when a person gives out of gratitude and acknowledgment, to avoid being ungrateful. <\/p>\n\n

If one chooses the path of denial and ingratitude, eventually self-contempt overtakes them. And if one grows accustomed to taking without giving, they become like a thief who takes what is not rightfully theirs, always anticipating retribution. <\/p>\n\n

The reason people expect compensation for their deeds lies in the instinct of self-love, which drives ambition, effort, and self-preservation \u2014 a lifelong pursuit of benefit and safety. <\/p>\n\n

Yet the greatness of Islam lies in that it neither ignores nor suppresses human instincts. Rather, it disciplines and elevates them toward what is more beneficial. It teaches a person to channel their self-interest in a way that benefits both the individual and society \u2014 by aspiring not for fleeting worldly gains but for eternal reward. Thus, the ego\u2019s instinct is refined, and the human gaze extends beyond material concerns, yearning for everlasting bliss that surpasses all worldly pleasures, no matter how great. <\/p>\n\n

A sign of this divine elevation of the human being is that a Muslim\u2019s faith is not complete until they love for others what they love for themselves \u2014 as expressed in the hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik, where the Prophet \ufdfa said:\u201cNone of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.\u201d (Bukhari) <\/p>\n\n

Even the simple act of removing harm or dirt from people\u2019s paths, without expecting anything in return, is a mark of faith. This is reflected in the hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, where the Prophet \ufdfa said:\u201cFaith has over seventy branches; the highest of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the lowest is removing harm from the road.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

And although Islam legislated retribution (qisas) through the judiciary, it also praises patience and forgiveness, teaching that repaying evil with goodness brings immense divine reward. Allah Almighty says in Surah Fussilat:\u201cGood and evil are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then the one between whom and you there was enmity will become as though he were a devoted friend. But none attains this except those who are patient, and none attains it except one having a great portion [of good].\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Reflect also on the gentle divine invitation for humans to overcome their selfish impulses that stand between them and the ultimate reward. Allah says in Surah Al-Balad:\u201cBut he has not attempted the steep path. And what will make you know what the steep path is? [It is] freeing a slave, or feeding on a day of severe hunger an orphan near of kin, or a needy person in misery. Then he was among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion. Those are the companions of the right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

And in another verse, God encourages humans to protect themselves from their own greed, saying in Surah Al-Hashr:\u201cAnd whoever is protected from the greed of his soul\u2014it is those who will be the successful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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All five pillars of Islam are between a person and their Lord\u2014except zakat, which stands between the Muslim and society. This unique pillar requires an authority to oversee its collection, distribution, and regulation, making it a political and economic responsibility with a religious foundation, one that rests on the shoulders of the head of the executive power. <\/p>\n\n

The Arabic word m\u0101l (wealth) is derived from m\u0101la, meaning to incline toward, for the soul naturally inclines toward wealth. And if the Prophet \ufdfa described prayer as \u201cthe pillar of religion\u201d\u2014as narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in Shu\u2018ab al-Iman from Umar ibn Al-Khattab, who reported that the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa said: \u201cPrayer is the pillar of religion\u201d\u2014he also described zakat as \u201cthe bridge of Islam.\u201d Al-Tabarani narrated in Al-Mu\u2018jam Al-Awsat from Abu Al-Darda\u2019 that the Prophet \ufdfa said: \u201cZakat is the bridge of Islam.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

In Asas al-Balagha<\/em> by Al-Zamakhshari, zakat linguistically means blessing, growth, purity, and righteousness, derived from the verb zakk\u0101, meaning to grow and increase. In Islamic terminology, zakat is one of the great pillars of Islam legislated by Allah to purify the soul and wealth, and to establish solidarity among members of the ummah. <\/p>\n\n

However, despite the divine wisdom and justice of this legislation, it also came to affirm the purity of the Prophet\u2019s \ufdfa message, free from any worldly motive or personal gain for himself, his family, or his descendants. Zakat was forbidden to the Prophet \ufdfa personally, to his pure family, and to his descendants until the Day of Judgment\u2014except in cases of dire necessity, as explained by scholars. This prohibition underscores that his mission was purely for the sake of Allah, seeking neither reward nor gratitude, but guidance for humanity and benefit in this world and the next. <\/p>\n\n

Al-Bukhari narrates in his Sahih from Abu Huraira that the Prophet \ufdfa said:\u201cAl-Hasan ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) took a date from the dates of charity and put it in his mouth. The Prophet \ufdfa said: \u2018Kikh! Kikh! Spit it out! Do you not know that we do not eat from charity?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n

After the death of the Prophet \ufdfa, Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (may Allah be pleased with her) thought she had a right to inherit from her father, but the matter revealed a divine ruling specific to prophets\u2014that they do not leave behind wealth or property to be inherited; rather, they leave knowledge and guidance. She was unaware that the Prophet \ufdfa had said:\u201cWe, the Prophets, do not leave inheritance; what we leave behind is charity.\u201dThis hadith was narrated by Muslim in his Sahih from Abu Huraira. <\/p>\n\n

History records, as narrated by Muslim from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq through Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:\u201cFatimah (peace be upon her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa, asked Abu Bakr after the death of the Prophet \ufdfa to give her her inheritance from what Allah had bestowed upon His Messenger\u2014namely, the spoils of Khaybar, Fadak, and his charitable properties in Madinah. But Abu Bakr replied: \u2018The Messenger of Allah \ufdfa said: We [Prophets] do not leave inheritance; whatever we leave is charity.\u2019 Fatimah became upset with Abu Bakr and did not speak to him until she passed away. She lived six months after the Prophet \ufdfa.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Aisha continued:\u201cFatimah used to ask Abu Bakr for her share from what the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa left in Khaybar, Fadak, and his charity in Madinah, but Abu Bakr refused. He said: \u2018I will not change anything that the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa did. I fear that if I abandon any of his commands, I would go astray.\u2019 As for his charity in Madinah, Umar handed it to Ali and Abbas. As for Khaybar and Fadak, Umar kept them and said: \u2018They are charity of the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa for his needs and public responsibilities, and their management belongs to whoever holds authority after him.\u2019 And so they have remained so until this day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n \n\n

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