Pseudo-Islamic feminism

OK it IS a fact that women do get oppressed. It is a fact that people get oppressed. It is a fact humans sin. When humans sin they either infringe on the rights of Allah and/or the rights of creation. This can be in the form of abusing someone, stealing someone's property, vandalising, oppressing etc. When men oppress women, they are wrong, they are not giving them their due rights, they are sinning, plain and simple.

Those who don't care that they are sinning i.e. they aren't religious have their own excuses for meting out their oppression, abuse, injustice and those who are religious will have their excuses too. The good and honest of them will put their hands up when they realise they've done wrong and repent. Those who are too pig-headed, stubborn and arrogant will be like the one who can't give up smoking or listening to music and look for every excuse in the book (whether that's their warped interpretation of the Qur'an or a twisting of a fiqhi opinion) to carry on with his sinning.

Why am I going into this? Cos I'm sick and tired of this trend of bashing men because they're men. I get tense when I read sisters - i.e. female MUSLIMS- dangerously discussing whether in Islam women get a raw deal, whether Allah has a'oothubillah been unjust in His perfect Shari'ah. I'm not speaking as someone who's just heard of women who are mistreated, a by-stander. Close friends of mine and family have been treated like crap by men, I've seen it, wiped their tears etc. But what good would I acheive having a chip on my shoulder about men? If I am a cynic as a result of men mistreating women am I actually doing good to myself or even damaging the perpetrators of injustice (if I wanted to be vengeful)? Or am I damaging myself and potentially damaging my future relationships? Not only that, if I go online and spread my victimised feminist da'wah the least I'm doing is putting fear into by-standers and making them cynical "men are all dogs" feminists, but worse, I'd really be treading on thin ice with my Lord if I did what some of these sisters do, by saying things that equate to "women have it bad in Islam".

With the risk of sounding like I'm bashing men myself - but I have to be fair - I do have to say men are not absolved from blame for this. Many of these women do not bash just because it makes them feel good; there is background and a context why they feel wronged. But many a time, it's difficult to see WHY these sisters are complaining, what exactly they are complaining about and with the attitude of criticising Islam a'oothubillah, frankly, the reasons cannot be heard due to the moaning and ultimately begin to matter little.

Perspective is everything

The difference between an atheist and an agnostic.

Atheist says "There is no god" which is half way to the kalimah, all that's missing is "worthy of worship except Allah".

Agnostic says "there may or may not be a god, Allahu 'alam." :-) (I like that joke)

Anyway which do you guys think is "better"?

Adab al Mufrad Notes (6)

DATE: 08/06/07 to 15/06/07

Hadith/athar: Abdullah ibn Amr said, "The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) pointed his finger towards us and said, ‘The (root word of) rahim (the kin) is derived from the word Rahman (the Merciful). Whoever maintains the connection of ties of kinship, Allah will maintain ties with him. Whoever cuts them off, Allah will cut him off. The kin will have a free and eloquent tongue on the Day of Rising.’"

Hadith/athar: Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, ‘The word rahim is derived from Allah (Rahman). Whoever maintains the ties of kinship, Allah will maintain ties with him. Whoever cuts them off, Allah cuts him off.’"

Ties of kinship depicted as a physical being.

Abdullah ibn Amr – Abu Hurayrah said of him, "He has more (hadith) than I do."

Aisha – born into the house of the greatest man after the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam), then with the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) himself, then spent the next fifty years of her life in the company of the greatest men of the ummah. From a very young age she was surrounded by knowledge. Some of the most personal matters of the deen narrated through her. Many hadith reveal her sense of humour and her natural jealousy of Khadija, the first wife of the Prophet (sal Allahi 'alaiyhi wa sallam), showing jealousy is natural and not blameworthy within the bounds. Every single characteristic of a Muslim women can be found in her yet she understood the difference between men and women. Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) didn't hide his love for her as is narrated in the hadiths. She used to compare herself with other wives and boast about her marriage to him. Only virgin wife, others were married for different reasons. Chosen by Allah – he (sal Allahu ‘alaiyhi wa sallam) saw her in a dream. Great role model for both men and women. Her status made clear when he sought permission from all of his (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) wives to spend his last days with her. He died in her lap, she was the last person to see him before he passed way. Defending her honour become a matter of aqeedah for ahl us sunnah due to the extreme shi'as who defile it, despite the Qur'anic ayahs.

Bukhari includes 2 similar hadiths together for certain reasons. Can either just take basic benefits e.g. obligatory to maintain kinship ties, Allah punishes the one who cuts them off etc or look deeper for the secrets. One such secret benefit could be looking at why Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) pointed. Physical actions sometimes directly attached to hadith e.g. in following hadith Abu Bakra said that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaiyhi wa sallam) said: "Shall I tell you which is the worst of the major sins?" He repeated that 3 times. They replied, "Yes, Messenger of Allah." He said, "Associating something else with Allah and disobeying parents." He had been reclining, but then he sat up and said, "Beware of lying." Abu Bakra added, "He continued to repeat it until I wished he would stop." Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) sitting up brings our attention to what he is saying, which on the face of it appears less significant than the other issues. However some physical actions not related to hadith. This hadith one such example. One benefit we can take from it is it shows how scrupulous sahabah were in noticing details – refutation of the critics of hadith.

"Derived from" – Arabic word is "shajna" – resembling roots of trees, interlocked, connected. Everything from Allah anyway – creation, our actions, including ties of kinship. But this link sets it apart from all, derived from His name and mentioned specifically.

What is the wisdom behind saying "whoever cuts them off…" when "whoever maintains them" implicitly tells us about the case of those who don’t do so? Hadith directly addresses both those who maintain-and those who cut off, not letting the latter group off the hook.

Word sila (maintains) also means gift which will render the meaning to be "whoever maintains the ties of kinship, Allah will reward him".

On the day of judgement we cannot imagine some of the things that will happen. Surah Yaseen says our limbs will testify what our actions were. Concept of those that do not speak having the ability to speak not unique to this hadith. "Non-tangible" beings will do things they logically shouldn’t be able to do e.g. Qur'an interceding for Muslims, stones bearing witness for/against us, death appearing as a ram and being killed etc. Not important how and other details but to have yaqeen that it will happen and move onto things we can know, unlike way of deviance who base whole belief system on doubtful matters.

"The kin will have a talq and dhalq tongue". Talq from talaq, to be loosened, letting go e.g. divorce, without restrictions, unhindered, without barriers, no-one to stop him. Dhalq – sharpened, tip of spear, penetrating, eloquent speech. Both together gives us meaning of speech without restriction, when spoken it is destructive. A powerful and scary combination.

I'm totally in love...

...with this recitation. I've heard Mishary before - who hasn't - and I've even heard this recitation of Surah Qaaf before but I've recently discovered it and can't stop listening to it.

Adab al Mufrad Notes (5)

DATE: 01/06/07 to 08/06/07

Hadith/athar: Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf said: "The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: ‘Allah, the Mighty and Exalted said, "I am the Merciful (Rahman). I have created ties of kinship (rahim) and derived a name for it from my name, whoever maintains ties of kinship, I maintain ties with him and I shall cut off from Me whoever cuts them off."’"

Imam Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri in chain. Imam Dhahabi said that he is the hafiz of his time. Didn’t just mean hafiz of Qur'an, meant the whole Qur'an and the rulings in them and at least 100,000 ahadith. Studied under 7 fuqaha of Madina: ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr, Sa‘īd b. al-Musayyib, Abu Bakr b. ‘Abd’l-Rahmān, Al-Qāsim b. Muhammad b. Abi Bakr, ‘Ubaydullāh b. ‘Abdullāh b. ‘Utbah b. Mas’ūd, Sulaymān b. Yasār and Khārijah b. Zayd b. Thābit and also taught great imams including Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Awza’i, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz – who said about him "no-one soaked up hadith like Ibn Shihab."

A person is known by his peers. Imam az-Zuhri’s peers had glowing praises of him who were big names in themselves.

Said to be the first man to write hadith with the purpose of teaching it.

Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf one of the 10 promised Paradise, understandable why after a brief look at his biography. One of the 6 in the shura to appoint next khalifa. Became Muslim at young age, even before dar al arqam, safe house of Muslims before open da’wah. Fought at Badr – the crucial battle for establishment of Islam. Allah says about ahl ul Badr, "do as you wish for I have forgiven you." One of those who gave their pledge under the tree as mentioned in Surah Fath about whom Allah says He is pleased with them. He was paired with Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas who offered half of everything he had including his two wives, thus taking the Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) request to the Ansar to host, help and share to the maximum. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf refused and prayed for barakah in Sa’d’s wealth and family and asked for direction to the market where he could do trade.

Lesson: be self-sufficient and rely not on others but Allah, even if what people can give you is your haqq. The more you rely on people the less you rely on Allah and the less people’s opinion of you becomes. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf became known as Al-Ghani, the rich, as he made today's equivalent of millions. Because of his wealth and in comparison the way some of the other sahabah were killed or died in poverty, he used to say he fears his reward has been given in the dunya rather than the Hereafter.

Hadith Qudsi. Allah’s speech of 3 types: (i) perfect – unchanged, protected i.e. Qur'an; (ii) Books of prophets – divine revelation before people corrupted them; (iii) Hadith qudsi – inspired via wahy, conveyed by Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) in his own words. Qudsi not always authentic. Should pay attention to what topics Allah selects for qudsi – in this case ties of kinship, has significance.

Allah could have used name Raheem, which may have been closer to rahim. Names of Allah like Raheem, Quddus etc can be used to name people (without al) but Rahman cannot, as though there’s sanctity with this name. Knowing and understanding Names of Allah gives guidance in our ‘ibadah and conduct.

Something attached to Allah indicates its significance e.g. slave of Allah, Ruh Allah, camel of Allah. Allah links Himself with ties of kinship, to its origin and consequence of those who have correct conduct towards it- good and bad.

Answers to "True, False or it depends"

1. False. Can be given to the rich who fall under other catergories. Qur'anic ayah ["Zakah and for bringing hearts together and for freeing captives and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the traveller – an obligation by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." Surah Tawba: 60] includes among the recipients workers who collect the zakah (could be wealthy accountants), those who are inclined to Islam (regardless of their financial status), the way-farer who may be rich in his homeland but cannot access that wealth.

2. False. Not all wealth requires the hawl to pass – only wealth that has the possibility of increasing. Therefore crops, mineral ores, precious metals do not increase in quantity after harvesting and extracting hence the zakah is to be paid immediately instead of waiting the hawl to pass.

3. False. Zakah due on crops is between 5-10% depending on how it is watered, zakah of cattle also varies, zakah due on mineral ores varies from 2.5 to 20% depending on how difficult it was to extract, buried treasures and trinkets requires 20% zakah to be paid on it.

4. True/false. Difference of opinion. Obligatory in Makkah as a general charity; obligatory in Madinah in its’ specifics e.g. recipients, how much, what types of wealth.

5.False. Although it is difficult to enforce in non-Islamic countries, zakah is not only an individual responsibility, it is a communal and governmental responsibility therefore in an Islamic state the khalifa is responsible for the collection and distribution of zakah. He has the authority to force people to pay and punish non-payers as Abu Bakr fought those refusing to pay after the Prophet’s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) death and Umar, when he was khalifa, punished those who didn’t pay by taking half of their wealth.

6.False. Firstly, the faqeer and miskeen comprise of a quarter of the zakah recipients mentioned in the Qur'an therefore even if hypothetically there weren’t any poor people in the UK zakah would still be needed for people of the other categories. Those busy working for the benefit of the community such that they are unable to work are eligible for zakah, those who cannot afford to marry (and marriage is obligatory for them) are eligible, asylum seekers and refugees, prisoners & their family, those in debt, those inclined to Islam e.g. helping new Muslims to learn about Islam, jihad, some scholars even include ideological war via the media. Secondly, while people may be suffering poverty in a bad way in other countries there are still poor people in a "developed" country like the UK. The problem is with our understanding of "poor"; according to the majority of scholars "poor" is according to custom of the people so a poor person of one society may be affluent in another. Therefore there certainly are people who do not enjoy a good standard of living in the UK and may be eligible for zakah. All scholars/mathhabs agree own locality has more right to wealth – zakah, zakat-ul-fitr, kaffarah etc to be paid in own locality. See http://www.jimas.org/zakat.doc for more.

7. True. The property of a slave as well as the slave himself belongs to master.

8. False. Two opinions: 1) Pen has been lifted from them. 2) Still have to pay because it is right of poor. Rights of people applicable even if pen has been lifted – similar to criminal damage.

9. False. Same as 7 if mentally deficient borders on insane.

10. False. Although one can argue that the money you have doesn’t actually belong to you the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) never told zakah collectors to ask if people owed debts. Also exempting those in debt prevents the poor from getting their right especially as many people are in some form of debt. The best thing to do is if a year passes and you still have the money you owe either pay it back or pay zakah on it.

11. False. Inheritance or money bequeathed in a will is like a gift. It adds to income so zakah has to be paid every year if it is above the nisab.

12. True. It is a right of the poor who are owed it until they get it. Like criminal damage or paying back debt.

13. False. Lunar year. Be careful when working out zakah.

14. Mainly true. However the nisab of paper money is based on the value of silver and the price of gold and silver changes all the time hence the nisab of money changes. One should check the price of gold/silver on the day zakah is due and pay accordingly.

15. True/false. Difference of opinion. Anyone denying obligation of zakah by consensus has committed kufr but the ikhtilaf is on those not paying out of laziness, rebellion etc. Abu Bakr’s opinion seems to be they had left Islam although some scholars interpret his actions to be fighting those rebelling against the khalifah.

16. True. Not obligatory on all luxuries.

17. True

18. True. The main intention is to profit from it hence the car is a commodity. Hawl starts from the date it is bought and zakah is 2.5% of the selling value of the car.

19. False. The main intention to use it, not profit from it. The ruling depends on the major intention.

20. True. Putting a house for sale makes the main function of house a commodity to gain profit from and living in it is a secondary function. Even if it is unsold (exceptions apply in economic depression or unusually slow market) the house has the potential to generate income. If it is already generating income by renting it out, one has to pay zakah on the rental income as well as the sale value if a hawl has passed.

21. True. Stocks are assets and have the potential to generate income. The selling price of stock (with the condition they were on sale for a full hawl) should be added with profits. Costs should thereafter be deducted and 2.5% zakah should be paid if the net amount is above the nisab.

22. False. Only wealth of the same species to be added together. Different species have different nisab & some don’t require hawl.

23. True. Zakah for the poor is to cater for their needs. Marriage could be obligatory on a person who is poor and cannot afford this necessity.

24. True. ALL the haram wealth is to be given away, not just 2.5%. If however someone who has earned haram repents, then he is not actually obliged to give that wealth away, he can keep it to use in a halal and beneficial way. Thereafter he should observe the hawl and pay zakah accordingly. If someone receives a gift from someone who has earned it in a haram way (except when that wealth actually belongs to someone else e.g. it is stolen) then t is halal for the recipient ("if the hand changes the ruling changes") who would have to pay zakah on it.

25. True. It is like a debt and those who didn’t receive it rightfully still have a right to it.

26. False. Have to pay zakah on wealth for specific group of people e.g. self, family, own ethnic group. If for general group then zakah not necessary as the saving is like zakah and there is no zakah on zakah.

27. True. Taxes, national insurance etc are a type of costs. Deduct the cost and pay zakah on the net income.

28. True/false. Depends on when pay back date is. If it is within a year and they are known to be reliable then I have to pay it back after a year passes, even if I don’t accept the money yet (likened to current bank account – bank can give the money in my savings anytime so even if I don’t have it in hand I pay not the bank who actually has the money). If it is due after that time only pay it back when received. If it is a bad debt I don’t pay until it is received.

Double negatives are a no-no

Apart from being annoying (I use this word quite a lot these days don't I?) trying to figure out double negatives, why are they wrong? I mean grammatically?

Adab al Mufrad Notes (4)

DATE: 25/05/07 to 01/06/07

Hadtih/athar: "Abu Hurayra said: "A man came to the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have relatives with whom I maintain connections while they cut me off. I am good to them while they are bad to me, they behave towards me like fools while I am forbearing towards them.’ The Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) said, ‘If things are as you say have said, it is as if you were putting hot ashes on them* and you will not lack a supporter against them from Allah as long as you continue to do that.’"

*i.e. it will cause them harm if they continue with their behaviour but will not harm you as it will result in their humiliation and you will gain respect in this world and the Hereafter.

Reported by Muslim also. Saheeh isnad and matn.

Ibn Abi Hatim in the chain. Faqih from the tabi’ tabi’in. Known to be as knowledgeable as Imam Malik who himself said "if there is a people and among them is Ibn Abi Hatim, they will be protected." Imam Malik not known for over-praising and exaggerating; known for being austere and serious. He was probably referring to Imam Ibn Abi Hatim’s taqwa, being a wali of Allah, rather than knowledge and qada.

Man knows what he’s doing is obligatory. He’s not approaching the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) to be excused from it, he wants to know what he (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) has to say about the matter. The behaviour of his relatives akin to their own punishment. His good treatment and their bad treatment in return is like humiliation for them. Essence of maintaining kinship is difficulty, not what is easy and nice.

Repayment of good with mere neutrality is shameful. But replacement of good with bad is evil.

"If it is as you said" – allows for another side to the story, possibility of reality not being the mentioned scenario. In fatwa-seeking always a hidden side mufti doesn’t know hence he should be careful and prudent when giving verdicts. REAL men of knowledge past and present shied away from giving fatwa whereas many of us rush to give our opinion in deen matters. Should be cautious rather than hasty.

Lesson for general mass: speak and convey news and information in balanced, just and accurate manner.

"Putting hot ashes" – causing someone to get punished. Should he and others like him then not continue god treatment? No as they themselves are the cause for their own punishment. Statement following it encourages the man to continue if his good behaviour.

"He's not romantic enough..."

I've heard this myself and I know a lot of wives would say this about their husbands. But what does being romantic mean? Being showered with jewellery, perfumes and other gifts? Chocolates and flowers? Scented candles? Walks along the beach? Being serenaded? I think many sisters equate the concept of romance with all or most of the above hence the complaint "he's not romantic enough". Or, some of us may be OK with him not doing the above and not being "romantic" because we too are not "romantic".

I think romance is necessary is a marriage. But I would definitely not equate the above examples with romance, otherwise let's face it, we're doomed to a marriage full of misery and disappointment or at least ungratefulness to our husband because we simply do not recognise he is romantic in his own way. For a lot of men it's difficult to express mushy emotions and gestures typically "romantic" (like the examples above) will be even more difficult to do to express their feelings because it won't come naturally to them. Now I love chocolate. And candles. Flowers are OK but I'm not too fussed about them. And hey, who doesn't like gifts in general? But I don't like them because I'm "romantic", I just like them! Some sisters don't like chocolate (it's true, weird sure but true) and would prefer fresh fruit. Hence it would be a more romantic gesture if their husband bought them fresh blueberries instead.

My point is romance isn't restricted to these material things. To me romantic is thinking of your wife/husbands needs and desires, and striving to make them happy. It's anything that shows you love them and care for them. "Romantic" is a husband agreeing to move to another city because his wife wants to complete her degree in a good university there. "Romantic" is a wife saying to her husband who is suffering from a bad fever "I'd rather this pain was in me rather than see you suffer". "Romantic" is a husband going home early after work instead of socialising with friends because he wants to spend time with his wife. "Romantic" is a wife sending random txts messages saying "I Love You". "Romantic" is a husband getting a hot water bottle for his wife when she suffers from her monthly cramps. It's helping your husband/wife finish his/her work so you can spend quality time together once the work is done. It is ANYTHING that shows that you love your spouse and care for him/her. If we have this attitude rather than the one restricted to flowers and chocolate etc, we'd be be much more appreciative of our spouse and the romantic things they do which go unnoticed by us because we're too hung up on the fact that "it's been ages since he bought me Lindor" or "I can't remember the last time he said sweet mushy things to me" or "He's never bought me flowers!"

Things that really annoy me

1. Girly girls "lol"ling all over the place. NO-ONE WANTS TO KNOW YOU JUST "LOL"LED! Especially men.
2. Girls knocking men just for the heck of it and men knocking girls just for the heck of it.
3. Girls who eat like rabbits when they don't even need to diet.

*Relieved sigh*

That feels so much better.

True, false or "it depends"?

I didn't get through most of the stuff I wanted to. Some new sisters came to the circle including some recent reverts masha'Allah and the introductions took up a bit of time. I'm gonna finish it next week insha'Allah but I'll put the true/false questions up now and put the answers in next time insha'Allah. Anyone's welcome to have a go or ask me further about them if they're unable to attend the circle.

1. Zakah is for the poor only.
2. Zakah is an annual charity.
3. Zakah is 2.5% of all wealth.
4. Zakah was made obligatory is Makkah, not later on in Madinah.
5. No-one can be forced to give zakah.
6. People in the UK don’t really need zakah; the real poor are in "third world" countries.
7. Slaves don’t have to pay zakah.
8. Children don’t have to pay zakah.
9. The mentally deficient do not have to pay zakah.
10. Those in debt do not have to pay zakah.
11. There is no zakah to be paid on inheritance money.
12. If I give zakah to a charity and they lose it or give it to the wrong person I have to re-pay that zakah.
13. If wealth has been in your possession for a solar year and above the nisab, zakah is obligatory.
14. The nisab is fixed and doesn’t change from year to year.
15. Anyone who doesn’t pay zakah has apostated.
16. Zakah is only obligatory on some luxuries, not the necessities or essentials of life.
17. All types of agricultural produce have zakah levied on them.
18. If I buy a car with the intention of selling it but use it in the meantime before a good price is offered, I have to pay zakah if a year passes.
19. If I buy a car with the intention to use it but also intend if a good price is offered I will consider selling it, I have to pay zakah if a year passes.
20. If I put my house up for sale and thus it is on the market, I have to pay zakah on the selling value after the hawl passes even if it hasn’t been sold yet and even if I’m still living in it or renting it out.
21. If I have a business I have to pay zakah on my profits as well as the value of my stock, if a year passes and it is above the nisab.
22. One should combine the value of all their wealth – jewellery, cash in hand, cash in the bank, income from rent, inheritance money, antiques, cattle etc and then work our the overall zakah.
23. Zakah money can be used to aid poor people to get married.
24. Zakah is not obligatory on wealth that has been earned in a haram way.
25. If you did not pay zakah on your wealth when you were not practising you should estimate how much you should have paid and pay it.
26. Zakah does not have to be paid on money that is being saved for e.g. marriage, hajj.
27. On salaries, we should deduct taxes, national insurance etc and then work out how much zakah on due.
28. If I’ve lent someone money I pay zakah on that money only if and when I have it back.

Zakah - an intro

At the Sisters circle in Makki masjid, Longsight, Manchester I did part of the circle on zakah. I based it all on what I learnt at AlKauthar's Price of Salvation a month ago. Here are some of the notes. We did some interactive activities too but I left them out in these notes. Because I didn't cover all of the stuff, I'm finishing it off tomorrow insha'Allah. I'll type up the remainding notes tomorrow too insha'Allah.




INTRODUCTION
Zakah is a pillar of Islam. The general attitude towards zakah is that people avoid learning about it more than they avoid the other pillars of Islam; it seems too technical, too mathematical, too complicated, "irrelevant to me specifically" and so on. Thus people exert their efforts studying fiqh of salah, how to perform the rites of hajj, what the correct ‘aqeedah is, related Ramadan issues every year yet zakah is left out. Some may even argue that a pillar of Islam should be simple and straightforward but rather, precisely because it is a pillar upon which Islam is built that it is detailed and vast. There is a huge amount of misinformation about zakah and ignorance about such an important aspect of out deen should be removed. There are many wealth related issues for Muslims are affected with either directly and indirectly – e.g. riba, haram earnings or working in institutes involved in haram, new types of wealth that didn’t exist during the Prophet‘s (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) lifetime, pensions, taxes, poverty and Muslims need to know how zakah applies to these. Also learning about zakah gives us an understanding of financial and social responsibility in Islam and the role of the Islamic authorities as well as the general masses with regards to this.


DEFINITION
Zakah comes from the word zakaa which literally means to increase and grow. Linguistically means blessing, increase, purity and rectification. The legal meaning is it is an obligatory charity that is due annually.


THE RULING AND ORIGIN
The scholars are in consensus that zakah is obligatory but they differ on who zakah is obligatory on.


BASIC FACTS RELATED TO ZAKAH
Nisab means the minimum amount of wealth one has before zakah becomes obligatory.

Hawl means the lunar year that has to pass before zakah becomes obligatory.

There are different types of "wealth" – cash, precious metals, minerals, livestock, agricultural produce.

The goals of the shari'ah with regards to zakah is to give from our wealth to the poor without becoming poor or experiencing difficulty in the process. We can see that zakah is obligatory only on wealth that has the ability to grow and increase and on wealth that is considered above and beyond our needs.

Wealth is anything that people can gather, collect and benefit from and like to own.

Certain types of wealth did not have value in the time of the Prophet (sal Allahu 'alaiyhi wa sallam) e.g. diamonds, paper money.

Paper money used to be attached to gold and silver. However in reality this attachement doesn’t exist anymore hence the nisab for money is that which is more suitable for the poor i.e. nisab which is less, which is silver. The nisab of pure gold is 85g and the nisab of pure silver is 595g. Hence at the time of printing the nisab of money is approximately 207 pounds 30p.

Adab al Mufrad Notes (3)

More adab al mufrad notes. Sorry to give them all at once but I procrastinated.

DATE: 18/05/07 and 25/05/07

Hadith/athar: Ibn Abbas said (about the verses): "Give the relative his due, and the needy and the traveller and squander not (thy wealth) in wantonness. Lo! The squanderers were ever the brothers of devils, and the devil was ever ingrate to his Lord. But if thou turn away from them, seeking mercy from thy Lord, for which thou hopest, then speak unto them a reasonable word. And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening, lest thou sit down rebuked, denuded." (17:26-29) "He begins by commanding the most pressing of the obligatory dues and He directs man to the best action if he has something – by His saying – ‘Give the relative his due and the needy and the traveller.’ Likewise He teaches man how he should excuse himself if he has nothing – by His saying – ‘If you turn away from them seeking the mercy from your Lord that you are hoping for, then speak gentle words to them.’ In the form of a good promise. ‘Do not keep your hand chained to your neck’ (like a miser that you do not give anything at all) ‘nor outspread it altogether so you sit reproached…’ (that means if you give everything, those who come to you later will find you empty and reproach you) ‘denuded’. (Ibn Abbas) said, that means: The person to whom you gave everything has denuded you.

Weak chain, has unknown person in it. But less strict in accepting/rejecting because it is athar not hadith. Scholars didn’t say whole thing is weak i.e. statement itself is sound.

Ayah tells us what one should do with money – (i) give it to relative, needy and traveller. (ii) If there’s no money to give, make promise that if you have money you’ll give it to them (iii) don’t be miserly or extravagant.

Ayah uses word "qurba" – close relatives.

The word "haqqahu" (due/right) implies reference to zakah whereas the word "aati" (give) is only used referring to sadaqah. Stipulated zakah recipients don’t include relatives. If ayat taken to refer to zakah it emphasises right of relative over other fuqara/masakeen (extremely poor/poor) and travellers if relative comes under these categories too. If taken to mean sadaqah also demonstrated right of relatives over others. Either way, relative comes before other needy people.

Wrong attitude to believe giving money to relative is a favour to them; doing so is merely giving them their right.

"Seeking mercy" – hoping for what Allah provides you with. What you have and can spend is attached to Allah who gives and takes as He wills to all of creation.

"Mercy from your Lord" – not our right. May not even deserve it.

"Hope for" – not guaranteed, shouldn’t expect it.

"Say gentle words" – not whinge, be rude, insult etc. Not sufficient to say "sorry don’t have any". Rather make a promise that if you have money insha’Allah you will give it. Qur'an teaches the highest moral in this aspect.

"Tied to neck" – analogy of a prisoner who is chained. Cannot move hands e.g. reach into pockets. Incapacitated. Ayah almost telling us not to act as though we have our hands tied when we don’t.

Also telling us not to place ourselves in trouble and difficulty yet Qur'an always starts with miserliness. Reflects most prominent problem – extravagance in giving in charity not as common.

"Rebuked" – blameworthy, no-one’s fault but your own, irresponsible with own wealth.

"Denuded" – Arabic word includes meanings of trapped, tired out, destitute. The one whom you wanted to help has left you in that state.

Subtle lessons to be learnt from Imam Bukhari’s choice of narrators. Ibn Abbas – could have chosen other narrators but he chose the cream of the crop as far as mufassireen are concerned. Ijma’ of scholars that tafsir of Qur'an by sahabah comes first. Example for us to choose only the best for our deen, no matter how difficult or how convenient other options are. Often choose best for dunya matters e.g. best doctor, school etc but deen more deserving.