Obligatory Charity (Zakah)

(OBLIGATORY CHARITY (Zakah

Obligatory charity in Islamic Jurisprudence and law:

It is a proportion of the wealth (2.5%) of every Muslim to be paid, when this wealth reaches the minimum value (Nisaab) and one full lunar year passes.

Its legitimacy: 

It has been made obligatory in the second Islamic Year after the obligation of fast-breaking charity, i.e., after the month of Ramadan.

Note that:

It may be said literally (AL-Zakah), God says ﴾And establish prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]﴿ Chapter of the Heifer (Surat AL-Baqarah). 
And also says﴾And woe to those who associate others with Allah۞Those who do not give Zakah﴿ Chapter of Detailed (Surat Fussilat).

*And it may be expressed as (AL-Sadaqah). God says ﴾Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealths  a charity (Sadaqah) by which you purify them and cause them increase﴿
And also says ﴾AL-Sadaqat expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy﴿The two previous verses are in Chapter of Repentance.

*Also, it can be expressed as “an expenditure”. God says ﴾And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah ‐ give them tidings of a painful punishment﴿
And God says ﴾And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger﴿The two previous verses are in Chapter of Repentance.

Evidence of its legitimacy:

God says ﴾Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealths a charity (Sadaqah) by which you purify them and cause them increase﴿ And says ﴾And they who are observant of Zakah﴿ Chapter of the Believers. ﴾And those within their wealth a known right(24)For the [needy] petitioner and the deprived(25)﴿Chapter of the Ways of Ascent.

﴾O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned and from that which We have produced for you from the earth﴿Chapter of the Heifer.

●Ibn ᶦAbbas reported: The Prophet appointed Muᶦadh as governor of Yemen and said to him, “Invite people to testify that there is no true god except Allah and I am Allah’s Apostle, if they obey you  to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the charity from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.” [The Two Scholars].

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□Paying charity is obligatory in all types of property, like money, crops, or cattle.

1) Crops and fruit charity:

a) If crops and fruits are produced without using machines, and irrigated with rain water, their charity will be one tenth.

b) If they are irrigated using machines, and there is an effort exerted to produce them, their charity will be one half of one tenth after deduction of expenses. It is given on the harvest day.

God says ﴾Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [charity] on the day of its harvest﴿Chapter of the Cattle.

●It was narrated from Sulayman ibn Yasar and from Busr ibn Saᶦid that the Messenger of Allah said, “For whatever is watered by the sky and springs, one‐tenth. For whatever is irrigated (artificially), one half of one‐tenth.” [AL-Bukhari].

2) Money charity

If the minimum value is reached, which equals the price of 85 grams of 21- caliber gold, you must give its charity, which equals 2.5%, after one full lunar year from that date. Its value is connected with the changing gold price.

Assume that the price of one gram of gold equals 100 pounds.

                                                                100 x 85 = 8500 pounds.

If your sum of money equals this number or exceeds it, then you must pay the charity.

For example, if it equals 10000, then 

                                                 2.5/100 x 10000 = 250 pounds.

                                 Thus, the charity will be 250 pounds, and so on.

                    OR

You can divide your sum by 40

10000/40 = 250

In conclusion, at the end of each lunar year, a Muslim must count his savings. If they exceeded the price of 85 grams of gold, he would pay its charity (which equals 2.5%).

Note that:

1) NO charity is paid upon the house in which you live, the car which you use, household appliances which you use in your home, or the jewellery which your wife and daughters use.

2) Charity must be paid upon all savings.

For example: jewellery which is not used, the land which is not used, and money saved for any purpose. Charity of any of them is paid if one full lunar year has passed.

3) Charity must be paid upon inherited money, after one full lunar year passes from the date of inheritance.

4) If you have lent someone for several years, and you took your money back, pay charity upon it immediately for one year only.

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Warnings of manipulation of charity

*Some of the rich use the opportunity provided by a religious occasion such as the month of Ramadan, the Festival of Sacrifice, etc. They distribute meat or clothes and consider that as a substitute for paying charity. This is a serious sophistry to escape giving charity. The Fire torment will be for those manipulators on the Day of Judgment.

*A Muslim must be sincere and honest with God to bless his property and does not consider the great value of 2.5%, but he should consider the good money remaining (97.5%). 
He should learn a lesson from what God did to the Companions of the Garden, who intended to deprive the poor from their garden charity, and then in the morning they found out that Allah had destroyed their garden. In addition, they will be punished on the Day of Judgment.

God says ﴾Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the Companions of the Garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning (17) Without making exception (18) So there came upon the Garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep (19) And it became as though reaped (20) And they called one another at morning (21) [Saying], “Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit.”(22) So they set out, while lowering their voices (23) [Saying], “There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person (24) And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able (25) But when they saw it, they said, “Indeed, we are lost; (26) Rather,we have been deprived (27) The most moderate of them said, “Did I not say to you, ‘Why do you not exalt [Allah]?’”(28) They said, “Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers (29) Then they approached one another, blaming each other (30) They said, “O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors (31) Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we toward our Lord desirous (32) Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater,  they only knew (33)﴿Chapter of the Pen.

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There is a threat of a painful punishment, in the Holy Qurᶦan and Prophetic traditions, for those who ignore paying charity. God says ﴾And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah‐ give them tidings of a painful punishment (34) The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], “This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard ﴿(35) Chapter of Repentance.

And says ﴾Woe to every scorner and mocker (1) Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it (2) He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal (3) No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher (4)﴿ Chapter of the Scandal-Monger.

He also says ﴾[And asking them], “What put you into Saqar?”(42) They will say “We were not of those who prayed (43) Nor did we used to feed the poor (44)﴿ Chapter of the One Wrapped up.

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Prophet said,“Any person who possesses gold or silver and does not pay what is due on it (i.e. charity), on the Day of Judgment, sheets of silver and gold will be heated for him in the fire of Hell and with them his flank, forehead, and back will be cauterized. When they cool down,they will be heated again and the same process will be repeated during a day the extent of which will be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.” [The Two Scholars].

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Prophet said, “Anyone whom Allah has given wealth but he does not pay its charity, then, on the Day of Judgment, his wealth will be presented to him in the shape of a bald-headed poisonous male snake with two spots. It will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say: ‘I am your wealth. I am your hoarded treasure.’” [AL-Bukhari].

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Fast-Breaking Charity

Its provision:It is obligatory.

Its time: It is paid in the interval of the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, prior to fast-breaking festival prayer. It prohibited to delay its paying after the festival day without an excuse.

The aim of it is to compensate for underperformance or poor performance of the fast of Ramadan. Also, it aims to make poor Muslims feel the joy of fast-breaking festival.

Its value: It varies from one country to another according to the price of its mean food. The Islamic Centre or Dar AL-Iftaa (Fatwa Council) in each country is responsible for defining the charity value.

Who is obliged to pay it?

A Muslim pays it for himself and for whom he spends on, like his wife, his children, his father, his mother, the servant who is resident with him, even his infant.

●Ibn ᶦUmar reported: The Messenger of Allah prescribed fast-breaking charity one Saᶦ (a standard measure that equals 2.6 or 3 KG) of dates or barley for every slave or freeman, male or female, young or old among the Muslims, and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer the festival prayer. [AL-Bukhari].

To whom charity and fast-breaking charity are given?

*They are given to the poor and the needy, the indebted, the strangers, and necessitous persons. They are also paid for every work in the way of Allah.

*If the sum of money is large, it is not permissible to give it to less than three persons.

*It is not permissible to pay charity to anyone of those: the rich, the infidel, and whom you spend on as your father, your mother, your wife, and your children. It is also not permissible to pay it to places of entertainment and disobedience.

God says ﴾Charity expenditures are only for the poor, for the needy, for those employed to collect [charity], for bringing hearts together [for Islam], for freeing captives [or slaves], for those in debt, for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarers− an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise﴿Chapter of Repentance. Verse NO 60

What is the difference between obligatory charity and alms (voluntary charity)?

Charity is an Islamic pillar and an obligation. Its value in money, crops, and fruits is defined.

Alms (voluntary charity) is a Sunnah and a means of nearness to Allah. Its value is not defined.

Charity is paid after the passage of one full lunar year, but alms is paid at any time.

◊ A true Muslim is the one who pays charity according to Islamic Legislation, then if he is generous, he gives alms in additional situations according to his tolerance, following the example of the Prophet and his companions, as in the case of performing obligatory prayers and adding performance of Sunnah prayers to them.

Note that:

- You have no right in what is not necessary in your life, but you are to give it to the poor. Innovation in welfare and luxury topples you from the Prophet and his companions and makes your account, on the Day of Judgment, long (not easy). The more you exaggerate in luxury, the less your bliss in the Hereafter.

●It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Those who eat to their fill in  this world, will be starved tomorrow in the Hereafter.” [AL-Tabarani].

- ᶦUmar ibn Abd-ALaziz was informed that one of his children had a ring with a stone that cost one thousand dirhams, so he wrote to him and said, “Sell it and use the money to make one thousand hungry persons fulfill their need of food.

●Abu-Hurairah reported: The Prophet went out (of his house) one day due to severe hunger, and there he met Abu-Bakr and ᶦUmar (May Allah be pleased with them) who went out for the same reason. One of the Supporters (AL-Ansaar) hosted them and fed them with date fruit and a sheep. After that, the Prophet said to his companions:“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you will certainly be questioned about bliss on the Day of Judgment.” [Muslim].

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah and Muᶦadh that the Prophet said: “The feet of the servant of Allah will not move, on the Day of Judgment, until he is asked about four things: about his life and what he did with it, about his body and for what he wore it out, about his knowledge and what he did with it, and about his wealth and how he earned it and where he spent it on.” [AL-Tirmidhi].

●It was narrated from Abi-Saᶦid AL-Khudri that Allah’s Apostle (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Whoever has an extra mount should offer it to him who is without it, and whoever has surplus money should give it to him who has nothing.” He named various kinds of properties until we thought that none of us had any right in surplus property. [Muslim].

●It was narrated from Abi-Saᶦid AL-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah said, “What I am afraid of in regard to you after my death is that the pleasures and the adornment of this world will be available to you. No doubt this wealth is a sweet vegetation (fresh). Blessed is a Muslim who gives out of it to the needy, the orphan, and the wayfarer.” [AL-Bukhari].