Zakat (Tax): Difference between revisions

'''Zakāt''' (زكاة) is one of the [[Five Pillars of Islam]]. It is a [[fard]] (obligatory) [[taxes|tax]]<ref name="EBZT">{{cite web|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/655448/zakat|title= zakat (Islamic tax)|publisher= Encyclopedia Britannica|author= |date= accessed November 16, 2013|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2FEBchecked%2Ftopic%2F655448%2Fzakat&date=2013-11-15|deadurl=no}}</ref> required of Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. [[Slavery|Slaves]] and horses owned by Muslims are exempt from this taxation.<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "There is no Zakat either on a horse or a slave belonging to a Muslim"''" - {{Bukhari|2|24|542}}</ref><ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira :- The Prophet said,"There is no Zakat either on a slave or on a horse belonging to a Muslim.''" - {{Bukhari|2|24|543}}</ref>  

Those in the cause of Allah (fi sabil Allah): According to the majority of scholars, this refers to and is restricted to only those people who are engaged in Jihad (military struggle).

This has led to mainstream Islamic charities, like Islamic Relief, almost exclusively focusing their humanitarian work and funds in Muslim majority nations or areas in non-Muslim countries which are heavily populated by Muslim minorities, with noteable exceptions such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and floods in central China.<ref>http://www.islamic-relief.org/annual-reports/</ref> In the aftermath of the 2010 [[Pakistan]] floods, many Christian survivors were denied aid supplied by Muslim charities.<ref>[http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7460 Pakistan: some Christians denied aid unless they convert to Islam] - Catholic Culture, September 6, 2010</ref>

One of the eight purposes of zakat is "in the cause of Allah" (fi sabilillah). This is widely interpreted in Islamic jurisprudence, but invariably includes jihad. In the classic manual of Shafi'i fiqh it is for "those fighting for Allah, meaning people engaged in Islamic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the army roster (but who are volunteers for jihad without remuneration)."<ref>Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Ed., Trans.), [http://www.shafiifiqh.com/maktabah/relianceoftraveller.pdf "Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law"], sections; h8.7, h8.17.</ref><ref>Imam's Corner, [{{Reference archive|1=http://islam1.org/iar/imam/archives/2004/12/30/zakatulmal_zakat.php|2=2011-10-14}} "Zakat-ul-mal (Zakat)"], The Islamic Association of Raleigh, December 30, 2004</ref><ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/209643 IslamQA]</ref> There have been numerous cases of Islamic charities all over the world funding jihad and even [[terrorism]].<ref>One example is the ''World Assembly of Muslim Youth'' which was [{{Reference archive|1=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/06/canadian-muslim-youth-organization-loses-charitable-status/|2=2012-03-12}} stripped of its charitable status] after a ''Canada Revenue Agency'' investigation linked it to a Saudi-based group that financed Islamic terror campaigns by al-Qaeda, but there are literally dozens of other examples easily found via a Google search.</ref>

An example of modern-day conflicts where those who are participating are considered in Islam to be fighting in "the Way of Allah" and where "zakat must be spent", include, "[[Palestine]], [[Kashmir]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Chad]], [[Somalia]], Cyprus, Samarqand, Bukhara, Tashkent, [[Uzbekistan]], Albania and several other occupied countries."<ref>Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Fiqh az-Zakat: A Comparative Study</ref><ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/international-relations-and-jihad/jihad-rulings-and-regulations/174504-spending-zakah-money-on-jihad.html?Regulations=|2=2011-10-13}} "Spending Zakah Money on Jihad"], IslamOnline, March 9, 2011</ref>

[[Islamic Terms|Islamic terms]] are often not completely analogous to the commonly-accepted/non-Islamic concepts they are mostly associated with. In Islamic terms, zakat is both a tax and a charity, and no problem is seen with discussing it as both, along with actual voluntary Islamic charity (i.e. the sadaqah). But by its commonly-accepted definition, it is strictly a tax.  

Like taxes, zakat is a fard (obligatory) requirement from Muslims, amounting to about 2.5% of one's wealth over the course of a year. It is levied on five categories of property—[[food]] grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods—and is payable each year after one year’s possession.<ref name="EBZT"></ref>  

The collection and expenditure of this zakat throughout Islam's history has been a function of the state. The compulsory payment was collected and distributed by the state under the Prophet [[Muhammad]], the Rightly-Guided [[Caliph]]s, the later Caliphate, and is even collected and distributed by the state in some theocracies today (for example, [[Saudi Arabia]]).<ref name="EBZT"></ref>. The first Caliph, Abu Bakr, enforced the collection of zakat from Arab tribes that had rebelled after Muhammad's death (see [[w:Ridda Wars|Ridda Wars]]).

*[{{Reference archive|1=http://ronmossad.blogspot.com/2010/10/aid-flotillas-save-haiti-from-cholera.html|2=2013-05-16}} Aid Flotillas: Save Haiti from a cholera outbreak, not Hamas from itself]  

[[Category:Islamic Propaganda]]

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