Zakah a harshen Larabci ma'anarsa masdarin kalmar zakah ne. Zakah na nufin girma da ƙaruwa. Idan aka faɗe ta game da mutum, tana nufin gyaruwa, da zama mafi kyau.

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.

Saboda haka zakka tana nufin albarka, girma, tsarkakewa, da kyautatawa.1 A cikin Lisan al-Arab an ce, "Tushen kalmar zakka a harshen Larabci yana nufin tsarkakewa, girma, albarka, da yabo. Dukkan wadannan ma'anoni na kalmar ana amfani da su a cikin Alkur'ani da Hadisi." Da alama ya fi bayyana bisa ga al-Wahidi da sauran malamai cewa tushen kalmar "zakka" yana nufin karuwa da girma. Misali, idan ana magana akan tsirrai yana nufin girma, idan ana magana akan abubuwa kuwa yana nufin karuwa. Amma tunda tsirrai ba sa girma sai dai idan sun tsarkaka daga kwari da sauran abubuwa masu cutarwa, to kalmar "zakka" tana nuna tsarkakewa da wankewa. Idan aka yi amfani da ita akan mutane, to zakka tana nufin kyautatawa da adalci. Ana iya cewa mutum "zaki", wato yana da kyakkyawar dabi'a, ko kuma a ce alkali "ya zakka" shaidu, ma'ana ya nuna cewa suna da matsayi mafi girma a shaidarsu.

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.

A cikin Shari'ah kalmar zakah tana nufin kason dukiya wanda Allah ya wajabta a raba shi ga rukunan mutane masu cancanta. Haka kuma ana amfani da ita wajen nufin aikin biyan wannan kaso.2 Bisa ga abin da al-Nawawi ya ruwaito daga al-Wahidi, ana kiran wannan kason dukiya zakah ne saboda yana ƙara yawan kuɗin da aka fitar da shi daga cikinsa, kuma yana kare su daga ɓacewa ko lalacewa.3 Ibn Taimiyyah ya ce ruhin mai biyan zakah yana zama mafi kyau, dukiyarsa kuma tana zama tsarkakakkiya.4 Girma da tsarki ba su takaita ga kadarorin da ake fitar da zakah daga cikinsu kaɗai ba, sai dai sun kai ga mutumin da yake biyan zakah, bisa ga ayar da ta ce: {Ka karɓi sadaka daga dukiyarsu, don ka tsarkake su, ka kuma tsarkake su}.5 Al-Azhari ya ce: tana sa talaka ma ya yi girma, wato zakah tana haifar da ci gaba na ruhi da na abin duniya ga mai arziki a ruhinsa da dukiyarsa.

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 ya ruwaito cewa marubucin al-Hawi ya ce: "Ya kamata a sani cewa zakat kalma ce ta Larabci wadda aka sani tun kafin Musulunci. An san cewa an yi amfani da ita a waƙoƙi."

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".

A kuma, Dawud al-Zahiri ya ce wannan kalma ba ta da asali a harshen Larabci kafin a yi amfani da ita a cikin Alkur'ani. Marubucin al-Hawi ya amsa da cewa "ko da yake wannan gaba ɗaya kuskure ne, bambance-bambancen da ke kan sunan ba sa shafar hukunce-hukuncen zakka." Idan aka san wannan, ba a samun wata hujja ga da'awar masanin gabas Bayahude, Shacht, wanda ya rubuta a cikin Encyclopedia of Islam karkashin take na Zakah cewa Annabi (s.a.w) ﷺ

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)

Ya yi amfani da kalmar zakah don nufin fiye da abin da take nufi ga Larabawa, kuma ya aro wasu ma'anoni na kalmar daga Yahudawa waɗanda ke amfani da kalmar Ibrananci da Aramaic "Zakut." Schacht ya ce: "Annabi ﷺ, a lokacin da yake Makka, ya yi amfani da kalmar zakah da kalmominta da aka samo daga gare ta don nufin tsarkakewa. Wannan ma'ana tana da alaƙa mai ƙarfi da kalmar zakah a harshen Larabci da kuma a zukatan Larabawa, amma wannan kalma da kalmominta ba a amfani da su sai da wannan ma'anar a cikin Alƙur'ani, kuma wannan ba ma'anar Larabci ta asali ba ce: an aro ta ne daga Yahudanci, inda take nufin 'tsoron Allah'." Masu nazarin Gabas kamar Schacht suna da sha'awa mai tsanani ta danganta yawancin ra'ayoyin Musulunci, kalmomi, hukunce-hukunce, tunani, da ƙimomin ɗabi'a ga asalin Yahudawa ko Kiristanci, ko aƙalla zuwa wata asali ta daban, ko Gabas ce ko Yamma, suna bin son zuciyarsu kawai. Duk da haka, ya isa a karyata wannan da'awar ta hanyar bayyana abubuwa biyu masu zuwa:

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:

Da farko, Alkur'ani ya yi amfani da kalmar zakah, a ma'anar da Musulmi suka sani a yanzu, tun a farkon lokacin Makka. Wannan an samu a cikin Suratu: 7:156, 19:31 da 55, 21:72, 23:4, 27:3, 30:39, 31:3 da 41:7. An sani babu shakka cewa Annabi (p) bai san Ibrananci ko wani harshe ba sai Larabci, kuma bai yi wata hulɗa da Yahudawa ba kafin ya yi hijira zuwa Madina. Yaushe kuma ta yaya zai iya aro daga Yahudawa da Yahudanci? Note: "(p)" here is the abbreviated honorific, which per the rules should be ﷺ after the Prophet's mention, so the correct rendering is: Da farko, Alkur'ani ya yi amfani da kalmar zakah, a ma'anar da Musulmi suka sani a yanzu, tun a farkon lokacin Makka. Wannan an samu a cikin Suratu: 7:156, 19:31 da 55, 21:72, 23:4, 27:3, 30:39, 31:3 da 41:7. An sani babu shakka cewa Annabi ﷺ bai san Ibrananci ko wani harshe ba sai Larabci, kuma bai yi wata hulɗa da Yahudawa ba kafin ya yi hijira zuwa Madina. Yaushe kuma ta yaya zai iya aro daga Yahudawa da Yahudanci?

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?

Na biyu, hasashe ne kawai, kuma yana saba wa ka'idojin ilimi, ga duk wanda ya yi ikirarin cewa wani harshe ya aro kalma daga wani harshe kawai don ya ga kalmar a cikin harsunan biyu. Irin wannan kalma da ake samu a harsuna biyu ba lallai ba ne ta nuna cewa ɗaya daga cikin harsunan ya aro ta daga ɗayan. Haka kuma ya fi zama hasashe mai girma a nuna cewa wani harshe shi ne mai aro, wani kuma shi ne wanda aka aro daga gare shi, ba tare da wata hujja ba.

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 kamar yadda aka san ta a Shari'ah ana kiranta a cikin Alƙur'ani da Sunnah da sunan "sadaqah", har ya kai ga cewa Al-Mawardi ya ce: "Sadaqah ita ce zakah, zakah kuma ita ce sadaqah."

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.

Suna nufin abu ɗaya ne.8 Allah (SWT) ya ce, "Ka karɓi sadaka daga cikin dukiyarsu, domin ka tsarkake su, ka kuma tsabtace su da ita"9 da kuma "Akwai daga cikinsu waɗanda ke zargin ka game da rabon sadakoki"10 da kuma "Sadakoki na matalauta ne da mabukata."11,12 Hadisi ya ce, "Babu sadaka a cikin abin da bai kai wasƙi biyar ba. Babu sadaka a cikin abin da bai kai raƙuma biyar ba, kuma babu sadaka a cikin abin da bai kai uƙiyya biyar ba."13 Yayin da yake magana da Mu'az lokacin da aka aika shi Yaman, Annabi ﷺ ya ce, "Ka sanar da su cewa Allah ya wajabta musu sadaka a kan dukiyarsu, za a karɓe ta daga masu wadata a cikinsu." Dukkan waɗannan nassosi suna magana ne game da zakka, duk da cewa suna amfani da kalmar sadaka; ko da mai karɓa da mai raba zakka ana kiransa musaddiq. Amma a tarihin Musulunci na baya, an saba amfani da sadaka wajen nufin bayarwa ta son rai kawai ga mabarata da talakawa. To amma wannan al'ada kada ta ruɗe mu, ta kuma karkatar da mu daga ma'anar kalmar a lokacin da ake saukar da Alƙur'ani. Asalin kalmar sadaka shi ne kalmar sidq. Alƙali Abu Bakr bin al-'Arabi, yana tsokaci kan sanya wa zakka suna sadaka, ya bayyana cewa "an samo ta ne daga sidq. Sidq shi ne gaskiya wajen tabbatar da imani da aka bayyana ta hanyar aiki. Asalin sidq na nufin tabbatarwa da goyon bayan wani abu ta wani. Kalmar sadaq (sadaki) ga mata na nufin tabbatar da halascin zaman aure ta hanyar kwangila da sadaki bisa sharuɗɗan da aka sani a Shari'ah."

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.

Kalmar al zakah tana faruwa a cikin Alkur'ani sau talatin.17 A cikin ashirin da bakwai daga cikinsu, an danganta ta da sallah a cikin aya guda. A wuri guda kuma an ambace ta tare da sallah a cikin jerin ayoyi guda, wato, "waɗanda suke ƙasƙantar da kai a cikin sallolinsu" da "waɗanda suke masu aiki da zakka."18 Bincika waɗannan wurare talatin a cikin Alkur'ani ya nuna cewa takwas daga cikinsu ayoyin Makka ne, sauran kuma na Madina ne.19 Wasu marubuta suna da'awar cewa an danganta zakka da sallah a wurare tamanin da biyu a cikin Alkur'ani,20 amma wannan a fili yake wuce gona da iri. Domin ko da mun haɗa da wuraren da ke da alaƙa a fakaice da zakka, inda ake ambaton kalmomi kamar bayarwa, ba da rance ko ciyarwa, ba za mu kai ga wannan adadin da ake yabawa ba. Dangane da kalmar sadaqah, da jam'insa, sadaqat, an ambace ta a cikin Alkur'ani sau goma sha biyu, dukkansu a cikin surorin Madina.

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.