Editing Zakat (section)

==Doctrine==

===Quran===
The [[Quran]] discusses charity in many verses, some of which relate to zakat. The word zakat, with the meaning used in Islam now, is found, for example, in [[sura]]s: 7:156, 9:60, 19:31, 19:55, 21:73, 23:4, 27:3, 30:39, 31:4, and 41:7.<ref>Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1999), Monzer Kahf (transl.), Fiqh az-Zakat, Dar al Taqwa, London, Volume 1, {{ISBN|978-967-5062-766}}, p. xl, "Qur'an used the word zakah, in the meaning known to Muslims now, as early as the beginning of the Makkan period. This is found in Suras: 7:156, 19:31 and 55, 21:72, 23:4, 27:7, 30:39, 31:3, and 41:7."</ref><ref>The English translation of these verses can be read here {{cite web |url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/ |title=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |access-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810145129/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/ |archive-date=10 August 2016 |df=dmy-all }}, University of Southern California</ref>
Zakat is found in the early [[Medinan sura]]s and described as obligatory for Muslims.<ref name=Heck>{{cite encyclopedia|last= Heck |first= Paul L. |editor-first= Jane Dammen |editor-last= McAuliffe |editor-link= Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an]] |title= Taxation|year= 2006 |publisher= [[Brill Publishers]] |volume= 5 |location= [[Leiden]] |isbn= 978-90-04-14743-0 }}</ref> It is given for the sake of salvation. Muslims believe those who give zakat can expect reward from God in the afterlife, while neglecting to give zakat can result in damnation. Zakat is considered part of the covenant between God and a Muslim.<ref name=Heck />

Verse 2:177 (the Clear Qur'an translation) sums up the Quranic view of charity and almsgiving (another name for zakat is the ''poor due''):

{{quote|Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives; who establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and keep the pledges they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in ˹the heat of˺ battle. It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺. – 2:177}}

According to [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]], verse 9.5 of the Quran makes zakat one of three prerequisites for pagans to become Muslims: "but if they repent, establish prayers, and practice zakat they are your brethren in faith".<ref name="yaqaradxix">Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1999), Monzer Kahf (transl.), Fiqh az-Zakat, Dar al Taqwa, London, Volume 1, {{ISBN|978-967-5062-766}}, p. xix.</ref>

The Quran also lists who should receive the benefits of zakat, discussed in more detail [[Zakāt#Distribution|below]].<ref name=Zysow/>

Mention of zakat after prayer suggests that it held a different role than almsgiving. Zakat served as a fine or payment for someone guilty of sin to have Muhammad pray for their purification.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donner |first=Fred M. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Muhammad_and_the_Believers/qBzRj7OajmEC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam |date=2010-05-15 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-05097-6 |pages=63 |language=en}}</ref> 

===Hadith===
Each of the most trusted [[hadith]] collections in Islam have a book dedicated to zakat. ''[[Sahih Bukhari]]''{{'}}s Book 24,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari/24|title=Sahih al-Bukhari}}, Book: 24 – Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat) at {{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com|title=sunnah.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/024-sbt.php Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204164402/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/024-sbt.php |date=4 December 2014 }}, Sahih Bukhari, University of Southern California</ref> ''[[Sahih Muslim]]''{{'}}s Book 12,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/muslim/12|title=Sahih Muslim}}, Book: 12 – The Book of Zakat at {{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com|title=sunnah.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/muslim/005-smt.php The Book of Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204164518/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/muslim/005-smt.php |date=4 December 2014 }}, Sahih Muslim, University of Southern California</ref> and ''[[Sunan Abu-Dawud]]''{{'}}s Book 9<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/abudawud/9|title=Sunan Abi Dawud}}, Book: 9 – Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat) at {{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com|title=sunnah.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/abudawud/009-sat.php Zakat (Kitab Al-Zakat)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204164401/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/abudawud/009-sat.php |date=4 December 2014 }}, Sunan Abu-Dawood, University of Southern California</ref> discuss various aspects of zakat, including who must pay, how much, when and what. The 2.5% rate is also mentioned in the hadiths.<ref>{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|abudawud|9|1568}}</ref>

The hadiths admonish those who do not give the zakat. According to the hadith, refusal to pay or mockery of those who pay zakat is a sign of [[munafiq|hypocrisy]], and God will not accept the prayers of such people.<ref>[[Sahih Muslim]], {{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/muslim/12/28|title=Book:12, Hadith:28}}, {{cite web|url=https://sunnah.com/muslim/12/92|title=Book: 12, Hadith: 92}}</ref><ref>{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|muslim|5|2161}}, {{hadith-usc|usc=no|muslim|5|2223}}</ref> The [[Sunnah|sunna]] also describes God's punishment for those who refuse or fail to pay zakat.<ref>{{hadith-usc|usc=yes|Bukhari|2|24|486}}</ref> On the [[Qiyama|day of Judgment]], those who did not give the zakat will be held accountable and punished.<ref name=Zysow>A. Zysow, "Zakāt." ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', 2nd ed. {{page?|date=May 2023}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

The hadith contain advice on the state-authorized collection of the zakat. The collectors are required not to take more than what is due, and those who are paying the zakat are asked not to evade payment. The hadith also warn of punishment for those who take zakat when they are not eligible to receive it (see [[Zakat#Distribution|Distribution]] below).<ref name=Zysow/>

===Amount===
{{main|Calculation of Zakāt}}
The amount of zakat to be paid by an individual depends on the amount of money and the type of assets the individual possesses. The Quran does not provide specific guidelines on which types of wealth are taxable under the zakat, nor does it specify percentages to be given. However, it clearly indicates to donate the "surplus" of one's income. But the customary practice in the Islamic world has been that the amount of zakat paid on [[Financial capital|capital assets]] (e.g. money) is 2.5% ({{frac|40}}).<ref name=AhmedGianci>Medani Ahmed and Sebastian Gianci, "''Zakat''", ''Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy'', pp. 479–481</ref> Zakat is additionally payable on [[Agriculture|agricultural]] goods, [[precious metal]]s, [[mineral]]s, and [[livestock]] at a rate varying between 2.5% and 20% (1/5), depending on the type of goods.<ref>{{cite book |author= Kuran, Timur |chapter= The Economic Impact of Islamic Fundamentalism |editor1= Marty |editor2= Martin E. |editor3= Appleby, R. Scott |title= Fundamentalisms and the state: remaking polities, economies, and militance |publisher= University of Chicago Press |year= 1996 |isbn= 978-0-226-50884-9 |page= [https://archive.org/details/fundamentalismss00mart/page/318 318] |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=doCmVaOnh_wC&pg=PA318 |url= https://archive.org/details/fundamentalismss00mart/page/318 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kuran, Timur|title=Islam and Mammon: The Economic Predicaments of Islamism|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4008-3735-9|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkIJGPNzVIIC&pg=PA19}}</ref>

Zakat is usually payable on assets continuously owned over one lunar year that are in excess of the ''nisab'', a minimum monetary value.<ref>Scott, J. C. (1987), "Resistance without protest and without organization: peasant opposition to the Islamic Zakat and the Christian Tithe", ''Comparative studies in society and history'', 29(03), 417–452</ref> However, Islamic scholars have disagreed on this issue. For example, [[Abu Hanifa]] did not regard the nisab limit to be a pre-requisite for zakat, in the case of land crops, fruits and minerals.<ref>Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1999), Monzer Kahf (transl.), Fiqh az-Zakat, Dar al Taqwa, London, [http://monzer.kahf.com/books/english/fiqhalzakah_vol1.pdf Volume 1] and [http://monzer.kahf.com/books/english/fiqhalzakah_vol2.pdf Volume 2]</ref> Other differences between Islamic scholars on zakat and nisab are acknowledged as follows by Yusuf al-Qaradawi,<ref name=yaqaradawi/>

<blockquote>Unlike prayers, we observe that even the ratio, the exemption, the kinds of wealth that are zakatable are subject to differences among scholars. Such differences have serious implications for Muslims at large when it comes to their application of the Islamic obligation of zakat. For example, some scholars consider the wealth of children and insane individuals zakatable, others don't. Some scholars consider all agricultural products zakatable, others restrict zakat to specific kinds only. Some consider debts zakatable, others don't. Similar differences exist for business assets and women's jewelry. Some require certain minimum (nisab) for zakatability, some don't. etc. The same kind of differences also exist about the disbursement of zakat.<br>&nbsp;– Shiekh Mahmud Shaltut<ref name="yaqaradawi">Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1999), Monzer Kahf (transl.) King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, [http://monzer.kahf.com/books/english/fiqhalzakah_vol1.pdf Fiqh az-Zakat, Volume 1], Dar al -Taqwa, London, {{ISBN|978-967-5062-766}}, pp. xxi–xxii.</ref></blockquote>

===Failure to pay===
[[File:Slot at the Zaouia Moulay Idriss II 1.jpg|thumb|A slot for giving zakat at the [[Zaouia Moulay Idriss II]] in [[Fez, Morocco]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ | title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God | year=2014 | page=94 | isbn=978-1-61069-177-2 | last1=Fitzpatrick | first1=Coeli | last2=Walker | first2=Adam Hani| publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref>]]

The consequence of failure to pay zakat has been a subject of extensive legal debate in traditional Islamic jurisprudence, particularly when a Muslim is willing to pay zakat but refuses to pay it to a certain group or the state.<ref name="Aghnides"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Yusuf al-Qaradawi|author-link=Yusuf al-Qaradawi|title=Fiqh Al-Zakāh: A Comprehensive Study of Zakah Regulations and Philosophy in the Light of the Qurʼan and Sunna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jF5by_O_QIEC&pg=PA40|access-date=4 February 2016|year=2011|publisher=Islamic Book Trust in affiliation with The Other Press|isbn=978-967-5062-76-6|pages=40–41}}</ref> According to classical jurists, if the collector is unjust in the collection of zakat but just in its distribution, the concealment of property from him is allowed.<ref name="Aghnides"/> If, on the other hand, the collector is just in the collection but unjust in the distribution, the concealment of property from him is an obligation (''wajib'').<ref name="Aghnides"/> Furthermore, if the zakat is concealed from a just collector because the property owner wanted to pay his zakat to the poor himself, they held that he should not be punished for it.<ref name="Aghnides"/> If collection of zakat by force was not possible, use of military force to extract it was seen as justified, as was done by [[Abu Bakr]] during the [[Ridda Wars]], on the argument that refusing to submit to just orders is a form of treason.<ref name="Aghnides"/> However, Abu Hanifa, the founder of the [[Hanafi]] school, disapproved of fighting when the property owners undertake to distribute the zakat to the poor themselves.<ref name="Aghnides"/>

Some classical jurists held the view that any Muslim who consciously refuses to pay zakat is an apostate, since the failure to believe that it is a religious duty (''[[fard]]'') is a form of unbelief (''[[kufr]]''), and should be killed.<ref>Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im Na (2010), ''Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a'', Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0674034563}}, pp. 58–63</ref><ref>Koylu, Mustafa (2003), ''Islam and its Quest for Peace: Jihad, Justice and Education'', {{ISBN|978-1565181809}}, pp. 88–89</ref><ref name="Aghnides205">{{Cite book|author=Nicolas Prodromou Aghnides|title =Mohammedan Theories of Finance, Volume 70|year=1916|publisher =Columbia university|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAVDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA205|pages=205}}</ref> However, prevailing opinion among classical jurists prescribed sanctions such as fines, imprisonment or corporal punishment.<ref name="Aghnides">{{Cite book|author=Nicolas Prodromou Aghnides|title =Mohammedan Theories of Finance, Volume 70|year=1916|publisher =Columbia university|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAVDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA302|pages=302–304}}</ref> Some classical and contemporary scholars such as [[Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh]] and Yusuf al-Qaradawi have stated that the person who fails to pay Zakat should have the payment taken from them, along with half of his wealth.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Fiquh of Zakat Volume 1|last = Yusuf|first = Al Qardawi|publisher = King Abdul Aziz University Center for Research in Islamic Economics|year = 1984|location = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|pages = 19}}</ref> Additionally, those who failed to pay the zakat would face God's punishment in the afterlife on the day of Judgment.<ref name=Zysow/>

In modern states where zakat payment is compulsory, failure to pay is regulated by state law similarly to tax evasion.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

===Distribution===
According to the Quran's Surah [[At-Tawba|Al-Tawba]], there are eight categories of people (''asnaf'') who qualify to benefit from zakat funds.<ref name=mariff>{{cite book|author=Ariff, Mohamed|title=The Islamic voluntary sector in Southeast Asia: Islam and the economic development of Southeast Asia|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|year=1991|isbn=978-981-3016-07-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NP4ZL0TJ9s4C&pg=PA38|page=38}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Alms-tax is only for the poor and the needy, for those employed to administer it, for those whose hearts are attracted ˹to the faith˺, for ˹freeing˺ slaves, for those in debt, for Allah's cause, and for ˹needy˺ travellers. ˹This is˺ an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.|{{qref|9|60|c=y}}}}

Islamic scholars have traditionally interpreted this verse as identifying the following eight categories of Muslim causes to be the proper recipients of zakat:<ref name=mams/><ref name=fvbb>{{cite book|author=Benda-Beckmann, Franz von|title=Social security between past and future: Ambonese networks of care and support|publisher=LIT Verlag, Münster|year=2007|isbn=978-3-8258-0718-4|page=167}}</ref>

# Those living without means of livelihood (''Al-Fuqarā'''),<ref name=mams>{{cite book|author=M.A. Mohamed Salih |editor= Alexander De Waal|title=Islamism and its enemies in the Horn of Africa|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-253-34403-8|pages=148–149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYLSKQa9tHEC&pg=PA148}}</ref> the poor<ref name=fvbb/>
# Those who cannot meet their basic needs (''Al-Masākīn''),<ref name=mams/> the needy<ref name=fvbb/>
# To zakat collectors (''Al-Āmilīyn 'Alihā'')<ref name=mams/><ref name=fvbb/>
# To persuade those sympathetic to or expected to [[convert to Islam]] (''Al-Mu'allafatu Qulūbuhum''),<ref name=mams/> recent converts to Islam,<ref name=mariff/><ref name=fvbb/><ref name="Weiss, Anita M. 1986 80">{{cite book|author=Weiss, Anita M.|title=Islamic reassertion in Pakistan: the application of Islamic laws in a modern state|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=1986|isbn=978-0-8156-2375-5|page=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROJZ5yt6O94C&pg=PA80}}</ref> and potential allies in the cause of Islam<ref name=fvbb/><ref name=twj/>
# To free from [[slavery]] or servitude (''Fir-Riqāb''),<ref name=mams/> slaves of Muslims who have or intend to free from their master {{clarify|date=July 2017}} by means of a ''kitabah'' contract<ref name=fvbb/><ref name=twj/>
# Those who have incurred overwhelming debts while attempting to satisfy their basic needs (''Al-Ghārimīn''),<ref name=mams/> debtors who in pursuit of a worthy goal incurred a debt<ref name=fvbb/>
# Those fighting for a religious cause or a cause of God (''[[Fi sabilillah|Fī Sabīlillāh]]''),<ref name=mams/> or for [[Jihad]] in the way of Allah by means of pen, word, or sword,<ref>{{cite book|last=Jonsson |first=David |title=Islamic Economics and the Final Jihad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcAcdx1NA34C&pg=PA245|date=2006 |publisher=Xulon Press |isbn=978-1-59781-980-0 |page=245}}</ref> or for Islamic warriors who fight against the unbelievers but are not salaried soldiers.<ref name=fvbb/><ref name=twj>Juynboll, T.W. ''Handleiding tot de Kennis van de Mohaamedaansche Wet volgens de Leer der Sjafiitische School'', 3rd ed., Brill Academic, pp. 85–88</ref><ref name=RelianceoftheTraveller>{{cite web|url=http://islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/resources/reliance2_complete2.pdf |title=Reliance of the Traveller |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317053833/http://islamicbulletin.org/free_downloads/resources/reliance2_complete2.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2013 }}</ref>{{rp|h8.17}}
# Wayfarers, stranded travellers (''Ibnu Al-Sabīl''),<ref name=mams/> travellers who are traveling with a worthy goal but cannot reach their destination without financial assistance<ref name=fvbb/><ref name=twj/>

Zakat should not be given to one's own parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, spouses or the [[descendants of Muhammad]].<ref name="Visser-2009-p29" />

Neither the Quran nor the Hadiths specify the relative division of zakat into the above eight categories.<ref name=masahikotimur>Masahiko Aoki, Timur Kuran and Gérard Roland (2012), Political consequences of the Middle East's Islamic economic legacy, in Institutions and Comparative Economic Development, Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-1137034038}}, Chapter 5, pp. 124–148</ref> According to the [[Reliance of the Traveller]], the [[Shafi'i]] school requires zakat is to be distributed equally among the eight categories of recipients, while the [[Hanafi]] school permits zakat to be distributed to all the categories, some of them, or just one of them.<ref name = RelianceoftheTraveller />{{rp|h8.7}} Classical [[schools of Islamic law]], including [[Shafi'i]], are unanimous that collectors of zakat are to be paid first, with the balance to be distributed equally amongst the remaining seven categories of recipients, even in cases where one group's need is more demanding.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Muslim scholars disagree whether zakat recipients can include non-Muslims. Islamic scholarship, historically, has taught that only Muslims can be recipients of zakat.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Benthal, Jonathan |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/16762/ISIM_1_The_Qur-an-s_Call_to_Alms_Zakat_the_Muslim_Tradition_of_Alms-giving.pdf?sequence=1 |title=The Qur'an's Call to Alms Zakat, the Muslim Tradition of Alms-giving|journal= ISIM Newsletter|volume= 98|issue=1|page= 13}}</ref> In recent times, some state that zakat may be paid to non-Muslims after the needs of Muslims have been met, finding nothing in the Quran or sunna to indicate that zakat should be paid to Muslims only.<ref name="Visser-2009-p29">{{cite book|author1=Visse|author2=Hans|author3=Visser, Herschel|title=Islamic finance: principles and practice|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84542-525-8|page=29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KIXe3rY_OkgC&pg=PA29}}</ref>

Additionally, the zakat funds may be spent on the administration of a centralized zakat collection system.<ref name=AhmedGianci/> Representatives of the [[Salafi movement]] include propagation of Islam and any struggle in righteous cause among permissible ways of spending, while others argue that zakat funds should be spent on social welfare and economic development projects, or science and technology education.<ref name=" Visser-2009-p29"/> Some hold spending them for defense to be permissible if a Muslim country is under attack.<ref name=" Visser-2009-p29"/> Also, it is forbidden to disburse zakat funds into investments instead of being given to one of the above eight categories of recipients.<ref>{{cite web |title=حكم استثمار أموال الزكاة والصدقات – إسلام ويب – مركز الفتوى |url=https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/126393/ |website=www.islamweb.net |language=ar}}</ref>

===Role in society===
The zakat is considered by Muslims to be an act of piety through which one expresses concern for the well-being of fellow Muslims,<ref name="Weiss, Anita M. 1986 80"/> as well as preserving social harmony between the wealthy and the poor.<ref>{{cite book|author=Scott, James C.|title=Weapons of the weak: everyday forms of peasant resistance|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-300-03641-1|page=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THCcW1gCe_QC&pg=PA171}}</ref> Zakat promotes a more equitable [[redistribution of wealth]] and fosters a sense of solidarity amongst members of the ''[[Ummah]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Jawad, Rana|title=Social welfare and religion in the Middle East: a Lebanese perspective|publisher=The Policy Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-86134-953-8|page=60|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NXbIU5KwUgC&pg=PA60}}</ref>