Our Lord has made the rich need the poor and the poor need the rich... Our religion has helped the poor and the needy
One of the most important issues of Ramadan is the issue of donation. In Ramadan, Muslims donate to meet the needs of the needy through material acts of worship such as zakat, charity and ransom. In accordance with the order of zakat, which our great religion Islam has made obligatory, Muslims who are in good financial condition give 1/40 of their earnings and savings to the poor and needy. Associate Professor Ahmet Efe Hodja shared invaluable and enlightening information about the worship of zakat in his interview with the Milli Gazete.
OUR LORD MADE THE RICH IN NEED OF THE POOR, AND THE POOR IN NEED OF THE RICH
My dear hodja, the blessed Ramadan has come. As is customary in our society, zakat is usually given in this month. Can you talk a little bit about this important service?
Especially because of Ramadan, the subject of zakat is explained and written a lot. It also needs to be explained. Because the goods are sweet, people are incapable of giving, they should be encouraged. Allah Almighty gave 40 to his servant, he wants only 1 of them, the rest is yours. A father does not do this to his child. He doesn't want it for free either, he promises heaven in return. So what we give to someone else comes back to us. There is no question of his wisdom. Our Almighty Lord did not grant everyone the same level of financial means, but made some poor and some rich. It has made the baker need hungry, the hungry need the baker, the employer need the worker, the worker need the employer, the rich need the poor, the poor need the rich. If one of these two elements is present and the other is not, the wheel does not turn. In verses such as "Allah Almighty has made some of you superior to others in terms of sustenance", "We have divided their livelihoods among them in this worldly life, and we have made them superior to each other in order for them to work for each other", our Lord also reveals the state of humanity in which it lives. He reminds us with his verses. It reminds us that everyone should be content with this division, be grateful for what it is, not complain, nobody should ignore or despise the other. The wheels of the machines are also large and small. If they're all the same, they're useless. There is a saying in our Anatolia: "You agha, me aga, who will milk these cows." This saying very well expresses the fact that social relations can only be healthy if people's opportunities are different and everyone needs each other, and that cohesion can only be achieved in this way.
ZAKAT IS OBLIGATORY ON EVERY MUSLIM WHO MEETS ITS CONDITIONS
What is Islam's approach to the poor?
From the very first day, Islam has reached out to the poor and needy. We see this clearly in the verses revealed in Mecca. We can see the verses that mean "don't hurt the orphan, don't scold the poor". I wonder why? They say hunger corrupts asceticism. If the person to whom you will convey Islam is hungry, if his children are in need, his mind will be busy with that need. In order to tell him something, he must first satisfy his stomach. That's why our supreme religion, Islam, has reached out to the poor and the poor from the very first day. This donation movement, which started as an optional aid in the Meccan period, In years, it was made obligatory under the name of zakat and it was obligatory for those who met the conditions.
ZAKAT IS OBLIGATORY FOR THE RICH
Sir, is zakat obligatory for every Muslim?
You know that prayer and fasting are not obligatory for everyone. Certain conditions are required for it to be obligatory. So is zakat. Zakat, as you know, is obligatory for the rich. Our religion has set a measure for this, it's called nisab. The nisab varies according to the goods that people consider wealth and strive to acquire. It is five dirhams for camels, thirty dirhams for sheep, forty dirhams for cattle, two hundred dirhams for silver, and twenty miskals for gold. These measures cannot be changed because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) himself determined them. Ijtihad is not permissible where there is clear and sound evidence. In other words, the understanding of wealth has changed over time. These are the constants of zakat, they cannot be changed. It is easy to understand the quorum of living animals because they are found in every era and everywhere. But some calculations are made in the adaptation of gold and silver to the present day. These calculation of the nisab is based on silver and gold currencies. We need to know how many grams the gold and silver coins used during the time of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and the Companions correspond to today's measurements, so that we can know the nisab of the money and trade goods we have. We see that the weights of the coins used in important centers such as Medina, Damascus and Kufa at that time were different. While calculating the nisab of money in Turkey, different results such as 81 grams of gold and 96 grams of gold are given for some, because the weight of the currency used for this work is different. Since the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) accepts 81 grams, this nisab is valid for money and trade goods in our country. This should be taken as a basis to avoid confusion.
THE AMOUNT OF ZAKAT IS 1/40 OF GOODS
Can you give an example of this in practice?
We can give an example with a rough calculation: If a grocery shopkeeper wants to give zakat, he calculates the goods available in the shop over the selling prices, He adds his receivables, then deducts his debts, and if the remaining money exceeds the value of 81 grams of gold, he gives two and a half percent of this value as zakat.
How are receivables and debts calculated in zakat?
I just told you. The debt is actually the creditor's, not yours. What you get is yours, not your debtor's. While calculating your receivables for him as if it is in your pocket, you accept the amount you owe as if it does not exist.
RECEIVABLES CANNOT BE CALCULATE IN ZAKAT
Can we count what we get as zakat?
This is asked a lot. In other words, the person lent to someone, cannot buy or sell goods, and the money has already passed due. At least he says I'll count it as my zakat. Will this happen? No, because zakat is an act of worship, intention is a must. We did not give that money with the intention of zakat while giving or selling goods to him, we gave it with the intention of receiving it. If we bring it now, we still get it. Therefore, we cannot count what we will receive into zakat, even if we do, it does not take the place of zakat. If the person who owes us is unable to pay and does not meet the conditions for accepting zakat If he is carrying it, let's give him our zakat, and if he pays us his debt with this money, we will have killed two birds with one stone. But this process should not be conditional, that is, collusion. Some want to make a poor family stay at home and count it as their zakat. This doesn't happen either. Because the rule of giving zakat, that is, the sine qua non of giving zakat, is giving. That is, giving zakat money or property to the poor person with the intention of zakat or depositing it into his account. The name of making sit at home is ‘ibaha’ in the language of ‘fiqh’, that is, allowing its use. The provisions concerning the giving and the ibaha are different. Another reason for not counting our receivables as zakat, which I have presented above, is the absence of this principle of giving. Because giving up one's right to receivable is not an giving, but a release and withdrawal. Their terms are also different. We must preserve the principle of giving in zakat well and be very careful. When we stretch it, every good deed becomes a place to give zakat: a mosque is built with zakat money, a Qur'an course is made, a water well is opened, patients undergo surgery and the newspaper becomes published for the case. While the poor starves, you build domes and minarets, build luxury charitable buildings and buy luxury service vehicles with zakat money. But none of them have any giving. Yes, these services will also continue, but these will be our donations in the form of grants, donations and charity.
Does tax count as zakat?
It doesn't count. Tax is the order of the state, zakat is the order of Allah Almighty. The places where the tax is spent are different from the places where the zakat is spent. But if the state collects zakat alms in a separate pool and spends it on the items that Allah Almighty has shown, it will be the best.
Is it possible to pay zakat on things other than money, such as shoes and clothes?
Yes, zakat debt is paid with anything that can be converted into cash when necessary. But, for example, offering food to the poor is not zakat since it is not an giving, as I explained above. Let's not forget that; It is always better to give cash, maybe the poor need something more urgent, like medicine.
MAY OUR LORD ACCEPT OUR FASTING, OUR ZAKAT SERVICES
What should he do if he has no cash?
After calculating his zakat, he should give it whenever he gets money. But if he is going to spread this over a long time, he should not forget to add the dissolving value of money in the face of inflation. He will give the zakat that he will give 10 Turkish Liras (TL) today, six months later, 15 TL so that he will not deprive the poor. The subject of zakat is a subject that has been explained quite extensively in the sources. Let's suffice with this. The best thing to do is to read this subject from a catechism book or to ask someone who knows the question and act accordingly. May Allah Almighty accept our fasting and zakat services.