PURIFYING CHARITY (ZAKAH)
(According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, as extracted and inferred by scholars of the Hanafi
school.)
From “Mukhtasar al-Quduri“, a matn of Hanafi fiqh
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1. Zakat is obligatory on
– the free, adult sane Muslim,
– when he possesses the nisab with complete possession, and
– a [lunar] year has passed over it.
There is no zakat [obligatory] upon a child, nor an insane person,
nor a mukatib.
There is no zakat [obligatory] upon anyone who has a [due] debt encompassing
his money. But, if his money is more than the debt, he pays zakat
on the excess if it reaches nisab.
If one advance-pays the zakat before the year [has passed over it],
and he possesses nisab, it is valid.
If wealth is destroyed after the obligation of zakat [has become due],
it is waived.
2. [Zakat due (in various proportions) on :
cows, sheep and goats.
There is no zakat [obligatory] on:
residential homes,
body clothes,
household furniture,
riding-beasts,
slaves in service,
weapons of use.
3. It is not valid to offer zakat without an intention coinciding with
the payment, or coinciding with the setting-aside of the obligatory portion.
One who gave all of his wealth in charity, without intending zakat,
its obligation is waived from him.
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1. There is no charity [obligatory] on any [silver]less than 200 dirhams.
[200 dirhams corresponds to19.69 troy oz and 612.36g.]
2. Then, if it is 200 dirhams, and a [lunar] years passes over it,
5 dirhams are are due for it.
3. There is nothing due on the excess until it reaches 40 dirhams,
and then 1 dirham is due for it.
[Similarly] for every 40 dirhams, there is 1 dirham [due].
Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said : Whatever exceeds 200 [dirhams] its zakat
is in proportion.
4. If the silver is dominant in silver coins, then their ruling is
that of silver. But, if alloy is dominant then their ruling is that
of trade goods, and its reaching nisab is taken into account.
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1. There is no zakat [obligatory] on any gold less than 20 mithqal.
[20 mithqal corresponds to 2.81 troy oz and 87.48g.]
2. Then, if it is 20 mithqal, and a [lunar] year passes over it, then
half a mithqal is due for it.
3. Then, for every 4 mithqal, 2 qirat [are due].
There is no charity [obligatory] on any [gold] less than 4 mithqal
according to Abu Hanifah.
4. There is zakat due on raw gold and silver, [as well as on] jewelry
and vessels [made] of them.
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1. Zakat is obligatory on trade goods, whatever they may be, if their
value reaches the nisab of gold or silver; one assesses it based on whichever
of the two is more beneficial for the poor and destitute.
2. If the nisab is complete at teh two ends of the [lunar] year, then
its dropping in between that does not waive the zakat.
3. The value of goods is added to gold and silver.
Similarly, gold is added to silver in value in order to reach the nisab,
according to Abu Hanifah. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said : Gold is not
added to silver by value, but it is added by parts.
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5.0 THOSE TO WHOM IT IS AND IS NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE
ZAKAT
5.1 Those Who May Receive Zakat
Allah, the Exalted, says, (translated),
“Alms are only for the poor, the destitute, those who collect them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, for [mukatib] slaves, debtors, and in the Path of Allah, and the wayfarer. An [ordained] obligation from Allah. And Allah is Knowing, Wise.” [Qur’an, 9:60]
These, then, are eight categories, out of which ‘those whose hearts are to be reconciled’ have dropped, because Allah has granted honor to Islam and has freed [it] of need of them.
The Poor : is one who has the least of things.
The Destitute : is one who has nothing.
The [Zakat-]Worker : is paid by the imam in proportion to his work, if he worked.
Slaves : the mukatibun are assisted in freeing themselves.
The Debtor : is one on whom a debt is incumbent.
In the Path of Allah : are the cut off fighters [of the army in a just war. This clearly does not include terrorists.].
The Wayfarer : is one who has money in his home-land, but is in a place in which he has nothing.
These, then are the sections of zakat.
The possessor may pay [some] to each of them, or he may restrict himself to one category.
5.2 Causes Not Eligible for Receipt of Zakat
1. It is not permissible for one to give zakat to a dhimmi,
2. Nor may a mosque be built with it,
3. Nor may a dead person be shrouded with it,
4. Nor may a slave be bought with it to free,
5. Nor may it be payed to a rich person.
5.3 Relationships Making One Ineligible to Receive Zakat
1. Nor may the payer of zakat pay it to his father, nor his grandfather even if higher [up in ascendancy],
2. Nor to his child, nor his child’s child, even if lower [down in descendancy],
3. Nor to his wife.
A woman may not pay [her zakat] to her husband, according to Abu Hanifah.
Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said : she may pay [it] to him.
4. One may not pay [one’s zakat] to one’s mukatib or slave, nor to the slave of a wealthy person, nor to the child of a wealthy person if
he is a minor.
5. It may not be paid to Banu Hashim, and they are : the Household of `Ali, the Household of `Abbas, the Household of Ja`far, the Household of Harith ibn `Abd al-Muttalib; nor to their freed slaves.
5.4 Miscellaneous Regulations
1. Abu Hanifah and Muhammad said : If one pays zakat to a man whom
one thinks to be poor, and then it transpires that he is rich, or Hashimi,
or an unbeliever, or [if] one paid [it] in darkness to a poor person, and
then it transpired that he was his father or his son, then repeating it
is not [obligatory] upon him.
Abu Yusuf said : Repetition is [obligatory] upon him.
If one paid [it] to a person, and then he learned that he is his slave
or mukatib, it is not valid according to the verdict of them all.
2. It is not permissible to pay zakat to anyone who possesses the nisab
of whatever type of wealth it may be. It is permissible to pay it
to anyone who possesses less than that, even if he is healthy and earning.
3. It is disliked to transfer zakat from one land to another; rather
the alms of each people should be distributed amongst them, unless a person
transfers it it to his relatives, or to a people who are more in need than
the people of his land.
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6.1 Obligation
1. Sadaqat al-Fitr is wajib on the free Muslim, if he is in possession
of the quantity of nisab in excess of his dwelling, clothing, furnishings,
horse, weapons and service slaves.
2. He gives it out on behalf of himself, his minor children and his
slaves.
He does not pay [it] on behalf of his wife, nor his adult children,
even if they are in his household.
He does not give it out on behalf of his mukatib, nor his slaves [who
were acquired] for trade.
There is no fitrah due on either of the two [masters] of a slave [co-owned]
between two partners.
A Muslim master pays the fitrah on behalf of his unbelieving slave.
3. The obligation of the fitrah is attached to the rise of the dawn
on the Day of [`Id al-] Fitr. So, whoever dies before that, his fitrah
has not become wajib. Whoever accepts Islam, or is born, after the
rise of the dawn, his fitrah has not become wajib.
6.2 Payment
1. The fitrah is :
half a sa` of wheat, OR
one sa` of [dried] dates or raisins or barley.
The sa` according to Abu Hanifah and Muhammad is 8 Iraqi ratl.
Abu Yusuf said : [it is] 51/3 ratl.
[1 sa` is a volume of about 2 litres, and corresponds to a weight of approximately 3.4kg.
1 sa` ~ 4 mudd; 1 mudd ~ 2 ratl; 1 ratl ~ 20 istar; 1 istar ~ 4½ mithqal {Radd al-Muhtar}]
2. It is recommended for people to give out the fitrah on the Day of
Fitr before going out to the prayer place. If they advance-pay it
before the Day of Fitr, it is valid. But, if they delayed it beyond
the Day of Fitr, it is not waived, and it is [still an obligation] upon
them to give it out.
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