Fiqh Al Zakah by Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi

Zakah in language is an infinitive of the verb zakah. Zakah means to grow and to increase. When it is said about a person, it means to improve, to become better.

Consequently zakah is blessing, growth, cleanliness, and betterment.1 In Lisan al Arab it is said, "The root of the word zakah in Arabic means cleanliness, growth, blessing, and praise. All these meanings of the word are used in Qur'an and Hadith." It seems to be most obvious according to al Wahidi and others that the root "zakah" means increase and growth. For example, with respect to plants it means to grow and with respect to things, it means to increase. But since plants grow only if they are clean of insects and other detrimental things, then the word "zakah" implies cleanliness and cleansing. If it is used with respect to persons, zakah then means betterment and righteousness. You may say a man is "zaki"; that is, he has good character, or you may say that the judge "zakah" the witnesses to mean he shows that they are of a higher level in their testimony.

In Shari'ah the word zakah refers to the determined share of wealth prescribed by God to be distributed among deserving categories. It is also used to mean the action of payment of this share2. According to al Nawawi's report from al Wahidi, this share of wealth is called zakah because it increases the funds from which it is taken and protects them from being lost or destroyed.3 Ibn Taimiyah said that the inner soul of the zakah payer becomes better, and his wealth becomes cleansed.4 Growth and cleanliness are not restricted to the zakated assets themselves, but reach out to the person who pays zakah, in accordance to the verse "out of their wealth take zakah that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them".5 Al Azhari says: it makes the poor grow too, meaning that zakah creates psychological and material growth for the rich in his soul and wealth.

Al Nawawi reports that the author of al Hawi said: "It should be realized that zakah is an Arabic word known before Islam. It is well known that it has been used in poetry".

On the other hand, Dawud al Zahiri said this word has no source in the Arabic language before it was used in Qur'an. The author of al Hawi answered "although this is totally wrong, differences about the name do not affect the rulings on zakah." Knowing this, one can find no base for the claims of the Jewish Orientalist, Shacht, who wrote in the Encyclopedia of Islam under the title of Zakah that the Prophet (p)

used the word zakah to mean more than what it meant for the Arabs and borrowed some of the meaning of the word from Jews that used the Hebrew and Aramaic work Zakut." Schact said: "The Prophet (p), when he was in Makkah, used the word zakah and its derivatives to mean cleansing. This meaning has a close tie to the word zakah in Arabic and in the mind of Arabs but this word and its derivatives are not used except for that meaning in the Qur'an and this is not an original Arabic meaning: it is borrowed from Judaism where it means 'fear of God'.7 Orientalists such as Schact have a fanatic desire to attribute as much as they can of the Islamic concepts, words, rulings, thoughts, and ethical values to Jewish or Christian origins or at least to any other origin, be it Eastern or Western, following only the whims of their own bias. It is sufficient however, to disprove his claim by stating the following two points:

Firstly, 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, 27:3, 30:39, 31:3 and 41:7. It is undoubtedly known that the Prophet (p) did not know Hebrew or any other language except Arabic, and that he had no contact with Jews before migrating to Madinah. When and how could he borrow from Jews and Judaism?

Secondly, it is mere speculation that violates scientific methodology for anyone to claim that a language had borrowed a word from another language simply because he finds the word common to the two languages. Such a common word does not necessarily mean that one language borrowed it from the other. It is even more speculative to point out one language as borrowing and the other as borrowed from without any proof.

Zakah as known in Shari'ah is sometimes called in the Qur'an and Sunnah "sadaqah", to the extent that al Mawardi said "Sadaqah is zakah, and zakah is sadaqah.

They are two names for the same thing."8 God (J) says, "of their wealth take sadaqah that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them"9 and "and among them are men who slander thee in the matter of sadaqat"10 and "sadaqat are for the poor and the needy."11,12 Hadith says, "There is no sadaqah in what is less than five Wasq. There is no sadaqah in what is less than five camels and there is no sadaqah in what is less than five uqiyah."13 Addressing Mu'adh when sent to Yemen the Prophet (p) said "Inform them that God has prescribed sadaqah on their funds, to be taken from their rich." All these texts were talking about zakah while using the word sadaqah, even the zakah collector and distributor is called musaddiq. But In the later history of Islam, sadaqah was traditionally used to mean only Vol.untary charitable donations given to beggars and destitutes. But such a tradition must not be allowed to mislead us and divert us from the meaning of the word at the time when Qur'an was being revealed. The root of the word sadaqah is the word sidq. Judge Abu Bakr bin al 'Arabi, commenting on naming zakah sadaqah, states that "It is derived from sidq. Sidq is truthfulness in realizing declared belief by action. The root sidq means realizing and supporting something by another. The word sadaq (Dowry) for women means realizing the lawfulness of intimacy by the contract and the dowry under specific conditions known in Shari'ah.

The root sidq has several derivatives. The verb saddaqa with respect to statements means to accept and to realize. The verb tasaddaqa with respect to funds means gave away, realizing his faith by action. And the verb asdaqa means to give dowry in marriage to women. The meaning of sadaqah is derived from the root sidq because sadaqah implies giving away goods and funds for the sake of God in expression of faithfullness and in realization of the belief in ressurection and afterlife."14 It is for that reason that Qur'an associated giving with affirmation of faith and withholding with rejection of faith, God (s) says, "So he who gives in charity and fears God and in all sincerity testifies to the best, we will indeed make smooth for him the path to bliss, but he who is a greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient and gives lies to the best we will indeed make smooth for him the path to misery."15

Sadaqah is thus an indication of truthfullness in faith and sincere belief in the day of judgment, Accordingly, the Messenger of God (p) said sadaqah is a proof (or evidence),"16

The word al zakah occurs in the Qur'an thirty times.17 In twenty-seven of them it is associated with prayers in the same verse. In one place it is mentioned with prayers in the same sequence of verses, this is, "those who humble themselves in their prayers" and "who are active indeed in zakah."18 Surveying these thirty places in the Qur'an shows that eight of them are Makkan verses and the others are Madinan.19 Some writers claim that zakah is associated with prayers in eighty-two places in the Qur'an20, but this is an obvious exaggeration. Since even if we include such places that have implicit reference to zakah, while words like spending, lending or feeding are mentioned, we would not reach that acclaimed number. As for the word sadaqah, and its plural, sadaqat, it is mentioned in the Qur'an twelve times, all of them in Madinan suras.