a conflict between The Quran and Traditional zakat?
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peace all,
It is commonly held by Traditional Muslims that "zakat" means "alms-giving" / "obligatory charity" / "payment", set at 2.5% annually.
Even amongst those following a Quran based islam, some take it to mean an amount to be paid. Some take it to mean "betterment" that should be brought forth.
We know from The Quran that non-believers should also bring forth "zakat", see
Say "I am no more than a human being like you, who is being inspired that your God is one God, therefore you shall be straight towards Him and ask His forgiveness. And woe to those polytheists.
"Those who do not bring forth the zakat, and with regard to the Hereafter, they are rejecters/concealers"IF "zakat" is an amount that has to be paid, does this conflict with these verses?
A rhetorical question asked to those opposing Quran's message
5240 Or do you ask them for a payment/reward, so they from a debt are burdened?
6846 Or you ask of them a payment/reward, so they from a debt are burdened?
The answer to the rhetorical question is "no", God and thus His messenger are not asking them for a payment/reward, but can this be so if "zakat" (or for that matter "jizyah" 929) is a payment?
(Will this observation affect "sadaqah/charity" as per Quran?)
Note I have not studied this, but put it out there for consideration.
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Peace to the astray ones
"We know from The Quran that non-believers should also bring forth "zakat", see""Say...... And woe to those polytheists. "Those who do not bring forth the zakat, and with regard to the Hereafter, they are rejecters"
I believe you need some glasses. 417 does no say that the unbelievers have to pay sakat; it says that they do not pay the zakat; and why would the unbelievers pay the zakat(purifying dues) demanded by a God they don't believe in. Only believers pay the Zakat(purifying dues) on the wealth given to them by God, for they are grateful to their lord for what they are being given, and so they give the share/portion that is demanded from it.
This is the zakat for those who obey the Torah
Deuteronomio 1422-29Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.......so that the Levites and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
This is the zakat for those who obey the Quran
...... one fifth ---to God ----then indeed---things --- of--- you have acquire ----- that of what ---- And know 841
Monotheist translation 841 And know that anything you profit, one-fifth shall go to God and the messenger, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and the wayfarer. You will do this if you believe in God and in what We revealed to Our servant on the Day of the Criterion, the day the two armies clashed; and God is capable of all things.
another translation Know that whatever of a thing you acquire, a fifth of it is for Allah, for the Messenger, for the near relative, and the orphans and the needy and they way farer ..... (Qur?an 841)
5115 The righteous are in gardens and springs.
5116 Receiving what their Lord has bestowed to them, for they were before that pious.
5117 They used to rarely sleep the whole night.
5118 And before dawn, they would seek forgiveness.
5119 An in their money was a portion for the beggar and the needy.There is a verse that says something like this And if we have asked for everything they own, they all would have turned away except but a few" but I could not find it now, I will post it later if I have time.
May God increase us in knowledge and give us wisdom.
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Zakat
Quran - 919 - Kad aflaha man zakkaahaa
He has succeeded who purifies it,Quran 2421
..........not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
maa zakaa minkum min ahadin abadan valakinnallaha yuzakkee mayashaaQuran 2151
........and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know.
wayuzakkekumNow in Quran 2177
.....and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask , and for freeing slaves; establishes prayer and gives zakah;first part - gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask , and for freeing slaves;
second part - establishes prayer and gives zakah;If zakat's only meaning is giving wealth, then why its repeating ? the first part aleady telling us to give wealth and to whom we should give it.
Zakat - purification, cultural/moral self purification/co-operation ?
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peace all
The word zakat is not used.
In the Qur'an just as in the Torah, The ALL KNOWING lord of the believers, do not mentions the name but only the amount to be given. The Qur'an is to guide many to the right path, and many astray from it, but none go astray except the wicked ones.
If the Israelites were like you, there is a high probability that they used the same excuse to avoid paying the tithe (10%). No wonder God destroyed them for their wickedness.
For the unbelievers Zakat is anything but giving from what they really love, for greed is the only thing in their hearts.
May God increase us in knowledge and give us wisdom.
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Zakat
Quran - 919 - Kad aflaha man zakkaahaa
He has succeeded who purifies it,Quran 2421
..........not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
maa zakaa minkum min ahadin abadan valakinnallaha yuzakkee mayashaaQuran 2151
........and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know.
wayuzakkekumNow in Quran 2177
.....and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask , and for freeing slaves; establishes prayer and gives zakah;first part - gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask , and for freeing slaves;
second part - establishes prayer and gives zakah;If zakat's only meaning is giving wealth, then why its repeating ? the first part aleady telling us to give wealth and to whom we should give it.
Zakat - purification, cultural/moral self purification/co-operation ?
Peace,
Thanks for this. Good explanation and I do not doubt that Zakah means purification.
Even sectarians do translate 919 as purifies despite stubbornness to adhere to zakat as something monetary in other instances. See it
• He has succeeded who purifies it,
• Truly he succeeds that purifies it,
God bless you
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Peace,
Charity is to give the excess. It is to measure how greedy vs. generous we are.
But that we do not translate zakat as charity is not to avoid giving charity. It is obvious that charity is part of Faith, and then not only by giving physical items.
Interestingly, to purify ourselves and charity can be a part of the sequence. Giving charity may help a community to combat inequity and in the long run will lead to more righteousness.
seems to mean to "loot" in the dictionary I have checked. It also fits the context which talks about warfare. It also makes a strange blend in a chapter that talks about battle against the enemies of God.
867 And it was not for any prophet to take prisoners until he is bound by a campaign. You desire the materials of this world, while God wants the Hereafter for you. God is Noble, Wise.
868 Had it not been previously ordained from God, then a severe punishment would have afflicted you for what you took.
869 So consume what you have gained, lawful and good, and be aware of God. God is Forgiving, Merciful.Interestingly as a noun it refers to a sheep.
In English the word loot would mean to take things from others such as this quote from 'Longman Advanced American "to steal things, especially from stores or homes that have been left empty because of a war, a natural disaster etc." It feels weird if the case of the word's usage based upon the context would then suddenly turn into everything that you get disregarding situation.
And this is not to argue that people should not give charity but to have the Truth about things. If a sentence from The Book is not about charity from any income then it should not be any income but the specific condition.
And like I said "Charity is to give the excess", not 2.5% nor 20% but the excess which can be pretty much any sum, but the more the merrier, and the better one would look in the "eyes" of God.
God bless you
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Peace all,
Man of Faith,
It seems that charity is to give the excess, but there needs much more than charity for a socialistic system to work. Reflect on the economic system in Sweden (since you live there) and ask yourself why God have blessed the country.
Please try to connect those
Arabic to Swedish terms
Zakat = Skatt
Khums 841 = Momshttp//sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khums
Peace
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Peace all,
Man of Faith,
It seems that charity is to give the excess, but there needs much more than charity for a socialistic system to work. Reflect on the economic system in Sweden (since you live there) and ask yourself why God have blessed the country.
Please try to connect those
Arabic to Swedish terms
Zakat = Skatt
Khums 841 = Momshttp//sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khums
Peace
Peace,
Could be a way of seeing it. The problem is that these parameters are only part of system and what "zakat" is. "Skatt and moms" are taxes imposed on the society to benefit at whole. Certainly skatt, or taxes, is a zakat, i.e. purification measure, but zakat does not directly translate into a taxing system.
But I liked the parable, however in this case it would seem like only a coincidence that they can be compared and fit.
Betterment or purification is still the best choice of words for "zakat" in its normal occurrence within The Book. This does not prevent the possibility to use it together with to contribute or pay to purification.
Humans have a problem of always needing to relate to words able to be seen with our very eyes and it might also be a reason why zakat is automatically connoted to purifying dues, but this somewhat inaccurate. Zakat is everything that we do, our actions including the money we contribute to the society, for example, in the form of taxes.
If you help an old lady over the street or do charitable deeds it is zakat, and it does not necessarily have to be about money.
So the salat and zakat are conveniently mentioned together throughout The Book because it means to come closer to God and contribute to the purification. It can be compared to all the verses which tell people to believe in God and do good deeds. These are two important parameters in our system. You can reach closer to God through Communion (salah) and purification is accomplished through all the various good deeds.
Now it sounds weird in a chapter that God talks about fighting them until they perform salat, but it does mean that they should obey God's system of justice and order by "tuning" in on what is right. Difficult to explain it might be, but this is how it is. I have tried many different words to find a correct one for salat, but none have been perfect but mindfulness or "symbiosis" (one-way symbiosis if you know what I mean) are close to what salah is. Because salat is also something you work and establish then I have even so used a hybrid word named Communion (which should not be confused with the Christian practice). It is a mutual bond between you and God. And if you do not contribute to your and others purification then there will never be any bond between you and God, thus zakat is mentioned together with salat in verses.
That many people are still unaware of the fact that God exists even if doing good and ignore this fact is another question. Many people do good to seek their own pleasure, fame and self-satisfaction though. Or there are people who do good and are blind to their own intuition that God is really real, but like I said this is not the topic. Many people are probably embarrassed that they believe in God due to peer pressure and it is not trendy to believe in God, or perhaps they think that the state of the world religions is a reason not to believe in God.
God is always associated with something concrete that we humans have created such as religions. Is that not association?
And excuse me that I always cover more with my posts than the actual topic.
EDIT Red There are many reasons why God chose to bless this country. That they established a relatively fair and just community with a decent welfare for all people is a reason why it may have been blessed. The issue nowadays is that it is drifting away from this kind of system day by day. The money does not reach the right people and taxes are not much lower than before with the right-wing government that we have today, but that is a political question. Unfortunately politics and religion, or rather the system of God, go hand in hand and only a fair and just system will generate the blessings of God. The colder social climate in recent years have changed people and it has not gone unnoticed (by me).
You are right that taxes are a fine way of upholding a system of God when everyone agrees that taxes are our mutual interest to the contribution of the society. A problem is that taxes are mandatory in a community and it does not show our true charity. But certainly God will see your willingness to pay them or not when you have your tax papers in front of you. Also it is good that you know that the tax money is used for the greater good and not feed some corrupt politician. Is is more than only taxes for the zakat in a society, but you need to make sure that the money and services reach those who need it.
When it comes down to it, it is our charity in daily life, monetary or not, that counts the most. If someone has problems you help them. To help them should come from the heart and there is no compulsion in God's system.
God bless you
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so Zakath = purification.
Sadaqat = charity.
Sadaqat is farz
Quran 960, (yusuf ali translation)
Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.the ayat starts Innama sadaqaathu (charities)......
The ayat continues to "fareezathan min allah" - farz from Allah. -
Man of Faith, this is the first time I read something like this on the free-minds and it makes me happy. Many of those who uphold the quran as a book of guidance try to manipulate others to believe the book does not teach us anything about politics. It is a clear fact that the quran teaches us to establish a political movement so we can establish justice.
...unfortunately politics and religion, or rather the system of God, go hand in hand and only a fair and just system will generate the blessings of God.
I agree with almost everything you wrote in your response, except the red part in the following qoute
You are right that taxes are a fine way of upholding a system of God when everyone agrees that taxes are our mutual interest to the contribution of the society. A problem is that taxes are mandatory in a community and it does not show our true charity.
Sometimes terms makes people confused.
Try to look at it from this point of view
Sadaqa = justification of citizenship payed willingly by the believers = 20% of salary
Jizya = justification of citizenship payed by force by those who uphold other systems than islam = 20% of salary
Zakat = voluntary charity, be it money, a smile, or a hug to someone who needs it
Is the problem solved?
Peace
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I agree with almost everything you wrote in your response, except the red part in the following qoute
Sometimes terms makes people confused.
Try to look at it from this point of view
Sadaqa = justification of citizenship payed willingly by the believers = 20% of salary
Jizya = justification of citizenship payed by force by those who uphold other systems than islam = 20% of salary
Zakat = voluntary charity, be it money, a smile, or a hug to someone who needs it
Is the problem solved?
Peace
Peace,
I think you misunderstood what I meant. Taxes become obvious in a society and it is simply expected without anyone giving it much thought about its charitable nature. You can become a proud tax payer though if you see that the money is for the greater good. No incompatibility there.
The society with a well-functioning welfare system such as the one in some secular countries, and if many believed in God, would be the best in the "eyes" of God. That people drift away from belief in God in countries is another issue, but as long as they keep a justice system of God's "standard" then God would at least keep it without destroying it. If God would destroy all communities for their sins He would not leave a tiny piece of land anywhere because most people do not believe
12103 And most of the people, even if you are diligent, will not believe.
3545 And if God were to punish the people for what they have earned, He would not leave a single creature standing. But He delays them to an appointed term. So, when their time comes, then God is Seer of His servants.
Is the world not interesting?
God says that most people do not believe and most that do believe associate partners with Him.
12106 And most of them will not believe in God except while setting up partners.
But half the Faith is about establishing a God-compatible system, so those who uphold justice and do what is right are half-way. In fact more so than hypocrites that run around with AK-47s yelling "Allahu Akbar" and that ritualistically pray and then mention others alongside God's name in their Mosques, in countries with no need to mention names. They are worse than disbelievers that uphold a decent judicial system in the western world. Evil deeds and corruption are worse than being an atheist.
There are more verses that talk about behavior and deeds than about "religious rules", but people seem to miss this fact.
The Book teaches well how to establish a society and politics, and most Western countries, at least Sweden which I can speak for, already has a similar system to the one that God teaches with The Book. In fact those who keep "Christian values" uphold a system of God. Away with the Jesus obsession and you have a upright community that serves God.
God knows that the majority of people do not believe and as long as the communities are not severely transgressing and uphold a compatible system, then God will not destroy them, especially not if there is even but one person within the society that believes.
Your elaboration on Zakat is fine.
Sorry for running slightly off-topic.
God bless you
