在引用东方学家的观点之后,我们再引用几位穆斯林作家关于天课(zakah)的论述。穆罕默德·拉希德·里达(Muhammad Rashid Rida)在其《古兰经注》中指出:
After quotations from orientalists, we give a few quotations from Muslim writers about zakah. Muhammad Rashid Rida, in his explanation of the Qur'an notes:
在规定天课方面，伊斯兰教有别于所有宗教和法律制度，这一点为许多不同背景的作者所承认。如果穆斯林能够切实建立这一宗教支柱，他们的社会中就不会再有贫困者、需要帮助的人，或是身负债务压力的人。
In imposing zakah, Islam is distinct from all religions and legislations, as confessed by most writers of many origins. If Muslims would only establish this pillar of their religion, no poor or needy or persons under pressure of debts would ever exist in their societies.
不幸的是,许多穆斯林忽视了这一义务,结果损害了他们的宗教和民族。因此,他们在政治和经济事务上成了所有民族中最糟糕的,以至于连自己的国家也失去了控制,甚至在教育子女方面也要依赖其他民族。如今的穆斯林子女在基督教传教士学校接受教育,由此他们与自己的民族疏离,沦为外国人的奴役对象。如果有人问他们:"你们为什么不自己办高水平的学校,而要把孩子送到传教士学校去?"他们回答说:"我们没有财力这样做。"实际上,他们缺乏的是践行宗教的热忱、智慧和意志。而且他们亲眼看到别人在出资兴办学校以及慈善和政治组织。因此,我要向这些已经失去宗教、从而也确实失去了今世生计的穆斯林宣告:"他们忘记了真主,真主便使他们忘记自己的灵魂,这些人正是悖逆的罪人。"⁶ 那些呼吁改革穆斯林社会的人,首先必须挽救宗教与尊严的残余,设立组织来收取天课,并按照伊斯兰法加以分配。他们必须认识到:如果已无奴隶处于奴役之中,那么解放奴隶的份额就应用于解放遭受殖民主义压迫的人民;而"主道"的份额则应用于通过光荣的圣战重建伊斯兰制度,在异教徒的侵略面前保卫伊斯兰。如果无法以武器进行捍卫,他们就必须出资,以文字和言语宣扬伊斯兰、捍卫其价值。 我们必须认识到，如果所有穆斯林，或者大多数穆斯林都履行天课，并按照其应有的用途施舍，这就足以重振伊斯兰的荣耀，收复外来者从穆斯林土地上夺走的一切，并使穆斯林摆脱对异教徒的奴役。而这只需要富人所拥有财富的十分之一，或者十分之一的四分之一。我们亲眼看到，许多主宰穆斯林土地的人，为了他们自己的民族和意识形态，花费的远不止于此，而他们甚至并没有受到其主的命令。7
Unfortunately, many Muslims neglect this obligation, and consequently cause harm to their religion and their nation. So they have become the worst of all nations in political and financial matters to the extent that they even lost control of their own countries and became dependent on other nations, even in educating their children. Muslin children today are educated in Christian missionary schools, whereby they are lost to their nations and become enslaved to foreigners. If they are questioned, "why don't you establish schools yourselves on high levels of performance, instead of sending your children to missionary schools?" they answer, 'We do not have financial resources to do so." In reality, they do not have the zeal, the mind and the will to implement their religion. And they see with their own eyes other people spending to finance schools and charitable and political organizations. Thus vow to these Muslims that have lost their religion and thus have indeed lost their worldly living. God says, "Those who forget God, He makes them forget their own souls, such are the rebellious transgressors."6 Those who call for the reform of Muslim societies are required to start by saving the remnants of religion and dignity, by establishing organizations to collect zakah and distribute it according to Shari'ah. They must realize that the share of freeing slaves must be used to liberate people who suffer from colonialism if there is no one in the bondage of slavery, and that the share "in the way of God" must be used to re-establish the Islamic system through the glorious form of jihad, which preserves Islam before the aggression of disbelievers. They must spend to call for Islam and to defend its values by writing and speaking, if such defense is not viable by weapons. We must realize that if all, or the majority of Muslims perform zakah and spend it according to its proper designation, that would be sufficient to re-establish the glory of Islam, to regain what was stolen from Muslim land by foreigners, and to salvage Muslims from enslavement to unbelievers. This can be done only by spending one-tenth or one-quarter of a tenth from the wealth owned by the rich. We observe with our own eyes that may people who dominate over Muslim lands spend more than that for their own nations and ideologies, without even being obligated by their Lord.7
在对穆阿兹所传圣训的注释中，即先知（愿主福安之）对他说："你要告诉他们，主已经在他们的财产中为他们规定了天课，从他们中的富人取走，交给他们中的穷人。"艾资哈尔清真寺前任阿訇、谢赫·马哈茂德·沙勒图特说：先知的这一教导表明，伊斯兰教中的天课，仅仅是民族内部多余财富的转移，因为它取自富人，给予穷人。换句话说，天课只是将一部分财富的掌控权，从一只手——即投资和保护的手——转到另一只手——即劳作和奋斗的手（当其劳动所得不足以满足其全部需要时），或者转到无法劳动的那只手，也就是穷人的手。8
In his comment on the saying from Mu'adh that the Prophet (p) told him "Inform them that God imposes on them in their wealth a sadaqah, to be taken from the rich among them and rendered to the poor among them." Shaikh Mahmud Shaltut, former head of al Azhar mosque, says, These Prophet's instructions indicate that zakah in Islam is simply a transfer of the excess wealth of the nation within itself, since it is taken from the rich and given to the poor. In other words, zakah only changes control of some fraction of wealth from one hand-- the hand that invests and protect -- to the other hand - the hand that works and struggle (when the yield of that work is not sufficient for all their needs), or to the hand that cannot work, which is the hand of the poor.8
在阿布·阿拉·毛杜迪的著作《伊斯兰的经济基础：与其他当代制度的比较》中，他论述了天课的作用与地位：
In his book Economic Foundations in Islam Compared to Other Contemporary Systems, Abu al A'la al Maududi talks about the role and place of zakah:
伊斯兰真正所要求的，是社会中的财富不应集中在少数人手中；那些因为幸运或才能而积累财富的人，不应将其囤积，而应至少拿出一部分来帮助无法获得足够生活所需的不幸之人。为了实现这一目标，伊斯兰通过两条途径发挥作用。第一，伊斯兰鼓励慷慨、合作与互相帮助，运用各种道德劝勉和宗教激励，使本就天性喜欢积累的人，被引导去乐于自愿地施舍部分财产。第二，伊斯兰颁布法律，要求富人按照明确规定的比例缴纳财富的一部分，这笔缴纳即是天课（扎卡特）。不可忘记，天课是伊斯兰经济制度中极为重要的组成部分，它与拜功并列为伊斯兰教的支柱之一。《古兰经》甚至明确指出，若不缴纳天课，囤积财富是不被允许的。"你从他们的财产中提取施舍，借以使他们清洁、纯净。"[9]"天课"一词本身即表明：人们积累的财富，若不通过每年为主的缘故缴纳其中2.5%来加以净化和圣洁，便是污秽而有罪的。
What Islam in fact wants is that wealth must not be concentrated in a few hands in society, that those who acquire wealth because of good fortune or good abilities must not hoard it and must spend at least part of it to help the unfortunate that can not obtain sufficiency of sustenance. In order to achieve this objectives, Islam works through two channels. First, Islam encourages generosity, cooperation, and helping others, by all means of moral encouragement and religious stimulus, so that people, who naturally like to accumulate, would be taught to like giving some of their wealth voluntarily. Second, Islam enacts a law that requires the rich to pay a certain well-defined fraction on their wealth. This payment is zakah. One must not forget that zakah is very important element in the Islamic economic system, it is next to prayer as a pillar of Islam. The Qur'an even explicitly states that hoarding wealth is not permitted without payment of zakah. "Out of their wealth take sadaqah, so thou might purify and sanctify them."9 The word zakah itself indicates that wealth accumulated by men and women is dirty and sinful if it is not purified and sanctified by paying 2.5 percent of it for the sake of God every year.
毫无疑问，真主是富足的，所给予祂的这些报酬，祂并不需要，也不依赖于它们。
Undoubtedly God is rich, nothing of this payment given to Him nor does He need it.
因此,"为了真主的事业"意味着人要致力于改善穷人的境况,并发起有益于整个民族的各种活动。真主说:"天课只归于贫民、赤贫者、管理天课的人、心被团结的人、奴隶、负债者、为主道而奋斗的人,以及旅途中的穷人。"[10] 因此,天课是穆斯林在社会层面上相互合作的一种组织,是所有穆斯林之间的互助保险公司,也是他们的后备基金。
Therefore, "the sake of God" means that one seeks to improve the lot of the poor, as well as to initiate activities that benefit the nation as a whole. God says, "Sadaqat are for the poor, and the needy, and those employed to administer the funds, and those whose hearts have been recently reconciled to truth, for those in bondage and in debt, in the cause of God, and for the wayfarer."10 Zakah is thus an organization of mutual cooperation on the social level, among all Muslims. It is their insurance company and their reserve fund.
这笔财富保障着其中失业者、无力谋生者、病人、孤儿和寡妇的生活，尤其是，它是帮助穆斯林不必为未来的物质生活担忧的制度。伊斯兰确立的简单原则是：今天你富足，就去帮助他人，因为明天你若变穷，也会得到帮助。你无需担心自己若变穷会怎样，或者你去世后妻子和孩子会怎样，或者遭遇意外时你将如何应对，或者你在旅途中身无分文而迷失方向。天课始终在那里使你富足，拯救你，消除你对此类意外或不幸的忧虑。你所需要做的，只是缴纳2.5
This is the wealth that guarantees the jobless, the inable, the sick, the orphans, and the widows among them, and above all, it is the institution that helps Muslims not to worry about their material future. The simple principle established by Islam is if you are rich today, help others, for you will receive help if you become poor tomorrow. You need not to worry about what would happen to you if you become poor, or to your wife and children if you die, or how you would manage if an accident befalls you, or if you get lost on a journey without any financial means. Zakah is always there to enrich you, to save you, to relieve your worry about such accidents or mishaps. All you need is to pay 2.5
为了你的全部财富的百分之……投入这个由真主设立的保险机构，你便能对自己和家人的未来安心无忧。你今天并不需要这些多余的财富，那又何不把它交给那些需要用来维持生计的人呢？当你需要帮助时，帮助也会延伸到你身上。
percent of all your wealth to this insurance institution established by God, and you feel secure about yourself and your family for all the future. You do not need this excess wealth today, so why not give it to those who need it for sustenance, and when you need help, it will be extended to you.
因此，伊斯兰之道与资本主义之道之间的对比变得更加清晰。
Thus the contrast becomes clearer between the Islamic way and the capitalist way.
资本家敦促人们积累财富并从中收取利息，以便你获取更多他人的财富。这与该宗教的本质不相符。伊斯兰教规定，如果财富在你手中积累起来，它就必须流经伊斯兰所规定的分配渠道，使你周围的生活得以繁荣。
Capitalists urge people to accumulate wealth and to collect interest on it, so that you acquire more of other people's wealth. This is not consistent with the nature of this religion. Islam ordains that if wealth happens to accumulate in your hands, it must flow through the channels of distribution provided by Islam, so that life flourishes around you.
财富的流通在资本主义制度中是受限的，而在伊斯兰制度中则是自由的。在资本主义中，你必须先拥有一定的财富，才能从共同的财富库中获取任何东西；而在伊斯兰教中，如果你拥有多余的财富，就必须将其中一部分交给社会，而那些有需要的人会前来从共同的财富库中取用。这两种制度在本质和方法上都不相同，无法在同一个地方共存。11
Wealth circulation is restricted in capitalism, while it is free in the Islamic system. In capitalism, you must have some wealth to acquire anything from the common pool of wealth, while in Islam, if you have excess wealth, you must give a fraction to society, and those who need it will come and take it from the common pool. The two systems are different in both nature and approach and cannot co-exist in one place.11
阿布·哈桑·纳德维在其著作《四大支柱》中解释道，天课的首要特征在于它建立在信仰之上，并且是为了取悦真主而履行的。这一点在其他任何税收中都不存在。他接着论述天课的第二个基本特征：
Abu al Hasan al Nadwi, in his book The Four Pillars, explains that the principal feature of zakah is that it is based on faith and is performed for the sake of pleasing God. This does not exist in any other tax. He goes on to the second essential characteristic of zakah:
zakah与当今国王、独裁者，甚至共和国和人民政府所征收的其他税费和财政负担不同，这是zakah的第二个显著特征。正是这一特征，使zakah在方式、目标和效果上从头到尾都与它们迥异。这一特征体现在先知（愿主赐福他，ﷺ）的教导中，即“从他们中的富人那里征收，交给他们中的穷人”。因此，zakah依照伊斯兰教法所界定的标准从富人那里征收，并分配给《古兰经》中由真主规定的各类受益人，这些类别不交由任何个人或团体决定。此外，人们始终倾向于将zakah用于其征收地的穷人和需要帮助的人。即使是那些并未严格遵循伊斯兰教细节、也未能在政治和治理中实现伊斯兰理想的政府，通常也依然遵循这一做法。即便在这些政府之下，穷人和需要帮助的人也未被剥夺其权利，伊斯兰教法也并未因此被废除。12
The second distinguished characteristic of zakah, in contrast with other taxes and financial charges imposed by kings, dictators, or even republics and people's governments today, which makes zakah different from them from beginning to end in method, objectives, and effects, is the legislative position given it by the Prophet (p) in his statement, ". . . to be taken from the rich among them and rendered to the poor among them ". Thus, zakah is collected from the rich, as defined in Shari'ah, and distributed to categories determined by God in the Qur'an, which are not left to any man or group of people to decide. Moreover, it is always preferred that zakah be spent on the poor and needy in the same land it is collected from. This was the general practice of zakah even by governments that did not strictly follow the teachings of Islam in minute detail and did not realize the Islamic ideals in politics and government. Even under these governments, the poor and needy were not deprived of their rights, and Islamic law was not abolished.12
这与当今政府征收的税费截然不同。在大多数情况下,税款取自穷人和中产阶级,却被交给首领、富人和权贵。这些税款来自农民、工人、小手工业者和小商贩的血汗,他们日夜辛勤工作,而这些钱却被用于宴请首领、举办典礼,以及大摆筵席、吃喝享乐,其奢华程度堪比《一千零一夜》中的传说。这些钱还被该国驻外使馆在其他国家肆意挥霍,用于为政府做宣传,耗尽了民众的血汗与资源。还有一些款项被支付给外国记者,让他们撰文赞美政府,无论民主、共产、资本主义还是社会主义政府,都是如此。对这类税收最真实的描述是:"从穷人身上征收,交给富人。"天课是真主为富人规定、用以帮助穷人的义务,它是对全体民众的仁慈与慈悯,是真主的恩赐,是其他一切税收都无法相比的。如果一定要用"税"这个词,那么它是负担最轻、益处最大的一种税。13
This is very different from taxes and fees imposed by governments today. In most cases, taxes are collected from the poor and middle class and rendered to the chiefs, the rich, and the powerful. They are taken from the sweat of farmers, laborers, small craftsmen, and small businessmen, who work hard day and night, on their jobs and spent for visiting chieftains, ceremonies, and food and drink for celebrations lavish as those described in the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights legends. They are also spent freely by embassies of the country in other countries, and on propaganda for the government that exhausts the blood and resources of people. Proceeds are paid also to foreign journalists to write articles praising the government, something done by all kinds of governments, whether democratic, communist, capitalist or socialist. The most truthful description of these taxes is "collected from the poor among them and given to the rich." Zakah, which is imposed by God on the rich to help the poor, is a form of kindness and mercy to the whole nation, a bounty from God incomparable to all other taxes. It is a tax, if one must-use the term, that is least burden some and most beneficial.13
轮到我向有思想的人士、财税立法方面的专家们介绍这项研究了，好让他们了解伊斯兰在规定天课方面，比现代财税制度早了多少。天课的立法基于公正的原则，旨在实现最崇高的目标，并有最坚实的纽带作为支撑。我希望这些思想者和法律人士能够认识到，他们在制定法律、并在所有穆斯林国家以法律形式确立天课时，必须尊重这个穆斯林民族的信仰。
It is my turn to present this study to men and women of thinking, to experts of financial legislation and taxation, so they can know just how much Islam preceded modern financial and tax systems in legislating this zakah, based on principles of justice, that aims at the noblest objectives, and that is supported by the strongest bonds, hoping these thinkers and people of law may realize that they must observe the beliefs of this Muslim nation when they enact laws and establish zakah by law in all Muslim countries.
我将这项研究呈献给社会保险领域的专家,希望他们认识到:天课是人类历史上第一个有组织的福利制度;政府在社会福利方面的行动始于七世纪《古兰经》启示之时,而非西欧过去几个世纪的事情。他们应当明白,社会福利与保险并非当代的发明,而是伊斯兰原初制度的一部分,既惠及穆斯林,也惠及非穆斯林。
I present this study to specialists in social insurance so they may recognize that zakah is the first organized system of welfare in the history of mankind, that the history of governmental action in social welfare started in the seventh century with the revelation of the Qur'an, and not in Western Europe in the past few centuries. They must realize that social welfare and insurance are not contemporary inventions, but part of the original Islamic system, provided to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
我将这项研究呈献给穆斯林国家的当代知识分子。他们拥有穆斯林的名字和阿拉伯人的面孔，心灵与思维却属于欧洲、美国、俄罗斯或中国。愿他们能够认识到：伊斯兰并非一种只蜷缩在功修角落里的苦修宗教，而是一种兼具宗教与国家、制度与信仰的宗教，它涵盖知识与行动、沉思与积极的生活、自由与正义、权利与义务。所有这些，都在天课制度中得到了最公正的体现。
I present this study to the contemporary intelligentsia in Muslim countries who have Muslim and Arab names and faces, but European, American, Russian , or Chinese hearts and minds, so they may realize that Islam is not a religion of asceticism that lives in the corner of worship alone, but a religion and a state, a system and a faith, encompassing knowledge and action, mediation and active life, freedom and justice, rights and obligations. All these are most justly manifested in the system of zakah.
我将这项研究献给所有穆斯林及其当代政府,希望他们重新审视对伊斯兰法律与制度,特别是天课(zakah)的立场,以消除帝国主义强权施加于我们生活中的种种矛盾,并使其社会摆脱文化与立法殖民的影响;待其国土摆脱军事殖民之后,回归以伊斯兰作为法律与立法之源。
I present this study to all Muslim people and their contemporary governments, so they can revise their positions of the Islamic law and system, especially zakah, in order to remove the contradictions imposed on our lives by the empirialistic powers, and rid their societies of the effect of cultural and legislative colonialism, after they cleanse their lands from military colonialism and return to Islam as a source of law and legislation.
最后,我将本研究呈献给关注伊斯兰教法与伊斯兰文化的人士,以及那些呼吁在本社会中实行伊斯兰制度的人们。希望他们能从中看到一项基于《古兰经》和圣训之光的比较研究,从而坚定信仰:这一宗教能够经受所谓"现代主义"的冲击,并能回应当代生活的需要。伊斯兰教能够再次引领社会,在其丰饶而常新的沙里亚之下,引导社会的事务走向真理、良善与正义;这一沙里亚适用于一切时代与一切土地。我们呼吁的结语始终是:"赞颂归于真主,众世界的主。"
Lastly, I present this study to those who are concerned with Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic culture, those who call for implementing the Islamic system in their societies, hoping that they find in it a comparative study in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah which strengthens their faith that this religion can endure the onslaught of so-called "modernism" and can respond to the needs of contemporary life. Islam can again lead societies and direct their affairs toward truth, goodness, and justice under its ever rich and fertile Shari'ah, that is suitable to all ages and lands. And the close of our call will always be "praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds."