Modern zakat origins

[ayyub]

The most confusing part of "traditional" Islam for me has always been zakat. I have never been able to figure it out. When calculating cash some say use gold for a nisab others say silver. I've heard the wealth needs to be with you for a full year and that it's the amount in hand on the calendar date (thus if you hit the jackpot the day before you need to pay zakat on that). Seriously when ever I try to figure it out I have to stop because I get a headache.

Being that the Qur'an does not give details on zakat my questions are:

Where did the modern version of zakat come from? (yes I know from Hadith but is there any historical insight?).

Is it the same for Shia as for Sunni? (Like how they break fast at different times and combine salat)

Is there a progression as we get latter and latter in the sources? (i.e. Al-Muwatta to Bukhari to Muslim to Dawood)

Are there any sources that show a different interpretation? (I asked this about salat and wakas had some good links)

Has anyone else ever gotten a headache trying to figure zakat out? (figurative counts)

Thanks for the help!

[God Within]

Peace be upon you,

Zakaat refers to purification of the nafs...which is the goal of salaat (programming/conditioning). So no need to worry yourself about calculations in regards to zakaat.

[mohf]

Salaam,

There are many small differences among the shia's and sunii's (including the 4 schools of fiqh) concerning the "zakat". All agree to pay once a year 2.5% over all your property. The differences are mostly on when exactly, how to calculate it, which things you can neglect, etc.

The Quranists consider Zakah as the purification of the Soul, and the Sadaqa as the obligatory tax (which traditionalists consider as recommanded)

[youssef4342]

Actually modern zakat of 2.5% and the rest of the percentages (like 10%) are more closely linked to Jewish tradition.

I have asked the same question to a Rabbi on Facebook, who is knowledgable in Jewish-muslim relations (Rabbi Ben Abrahamson)


Q. Question about Zakat? Is there any connection between the tithe, and the Islamic 2.5% zakat? Is there ever mention of 2.5% in Judaic tradition? I only came across the tithe in the Torah?.

A. The word Zakat probably derives from Zedakah. Today Zedakah in Hebrew means Charity, but during the Second Temple times it was a tax. There were several taxes, the 2% (1/50) or 2.5% (1/40) tax was called Terumah.

The Mishnah, Tosefta, and Gemara, include a tract entitled Terumot ("Offerings"), which deals with the laws regulating raised offerings. According to Jewish Law, the "great offering" (terumah gedolah) could only be separated from the non-tithed produce (tevel), and "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) only be separated from "first tithe" (maaser rishon), by its owner, or an authorized, legally permissible agent; minors, deaf-mutes, the mentally ill and non-Jews were not obligated to perform such separation (Terumot 1:1). However, while non-Jews could not act as agents for Jews to separate terumah, the terumah owned by and separated by non-Jews was considered valid and had the status and sanctity of terumah (Terumot 3:9). Based in part on the measures described by the prophet Ezekiel, Jewish Law set the minimum amounts of the "great offering" at 1/60 of the finished produce for a poor person, 1/50 for the average person, and 1/40 for the generous. The "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) was always 10% of the "first tithe" (maaser rishon).

The Talmud opens with a discussion of when the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") prayer should be recited. The Mishnah states that it should be recited when priests who were "unclean" (tamei, טָמֵא ritually impure) are able to enter the Temple to eat their terumah raised-offering (Brachot 2a). This passage is one many which intimately connect the daily rituals of Orthodox Judaism with details of the rhythm of the life of the Temple in Jerusalem.



Also 5 salat also seems to resemble jewish prayers.
http://www.alsadiqin.org/history/Prayer%20Positions.pdf

[ayyub]

Some possible insight found at: http://www.tolueislam.org/Bazm/Mansoor/MA_zakah_i.htm

To which the author, Dr. Mansoor Alam, places the origins with the Abbasids.

'In regard to the prevailing system in many so-called Muslim countries, strangely enough, zakah is based on the way it was set up by the Imams under the direction of the Abbasid kings.  Since the Quran does not recognize the existence of kings and priests, they had no authority to develop a Shari?ah for the Muslim masses.  Yet, today, we do have a Shari?ah in our hands, which we accept unquestioningly.  How was this done?   In the first place, the Shari?ah of the Abbasid kings and priests was sanctified by attributing it to the Prophet (pbuh).  Secondly, any critics of the time were silenced by the proverbial carrot and stick.  This method was just as effective then, as it is now.  Those who refused to bow to any form of pressure would be labeled as infidels and put to death; their writings would be destroyed.  In this way, the kings and the priests established their version of the Shari?ah as the truth, to the extent that today, many religious Muslims find the following statements very strange: only the Quran is sufficient for us; we can implement true Islam based solely on the Quran; the prophet (pbuh) left only the written Quran to the Ummah; the Prophet told Muslims to follow only the Quran; the Prophet gradually abolished slavery; the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were true Mumins who did not deviate from the Quran and the true faith.  Well-meaning religious Muslims will quickly quote Shari?ah to refute the above statements, which are perfectly true and found in the Quran.  How ironic that the Quran has been made to appear strange and the man-made Shari?ah made to look like the truth.'

[ayyub]

Salaam,

There are many small differences among the shia's and sunii's (including the 4 schools of fiqh) concerning the "zakat". All agree to pay once a year 2.5% over all your property. The differences are mostly on when exactly, how to calculate it, which things you can neglect, etc.

The Quranists consider Zakah as the purification of the Soul, and the Sadaqa as the obligatory tax (which traditionalists consider as recommanded)

In regards to Shia/Sunni differences, something interesting I found in he article I posted above was that the Jafari School (not sure about other Shia schools) does not recognize zakat to be paid on paper currency. I did some more research on this and found a Shia website that stated the same thing.

http://www.revivingalislam.com/2011/10/zakat-in-shia-islam.html:

As you will see many times various companions of the A?immah ( مهيلع ملاسلا ) wanted to pay al-Zakāh on other than these nine things, but our A?immah )عليهم السلام( vehemently said that the Messenger of Allāh )صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم( has ?forgiven what is apart from that? ( عفا عما سوى ذلك ). This means that al-Zakāh is only obligatory on these nine things and nothing else. We cannot do Qiyās (analogous reasoning) and make al-Zakāh obligatory upon paper currency or upon anything else.

In this document I will bring only the aḥādīth that are considered authentic by our scholars...

From Jamīl said, I heard Abā `Abd Allāh )عليه السلام( say about the amount for al-zakāh. So he )عليه السلام( said: ?It is established on nine things, the Messenger of Allāh )صلى الله عليه وآله وسلن( has forgiven what is apart from that. Al-Tayyār1 said: ?We have a grain, it is called rice‟ So Abū `Abd Allāh )عليه السلام( said to him, ?We have many grains also.‟ So he (al-Tayyār) said to him )عليه السلام( : ?And (is there zakat) upon it?‟ He )عليه السلام( said: ?Did I not tell you, the Messenger of Allāh )صلى الله عليه وآله وسلن( has forgiven what is apart from that?‟ From it is ?Gold and Silver‟. Three from the animals, ?Camels, Sheep and Cows‟, and from the vegetation of the earth are ?Wheat, Barley, Raisins and Dates‟

From `Abd Allāh bin Sinān said, Abū `Abd Allāh said: ?When the verse of al-Zakāh was revealed ?Take from their wealth a charity, so you would purify and cleanse them with it? (9:103). It was revealed in the Month of Ramaḍān, and the Messenger of Allāh ( نلسو هلآو هيلع الله ىلص ) commanded a caller to call to the people that Allāh has made zakat farḍ (obligatory) upon, just like he has made salat obligatory upon them, so Allāh )عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ ( has obligatory upon them from the Gold and Silver, and has made obligatory charity from the camels, cows, sheep, and from wheat, barley, dates and raisins. And he called for them in that in the Month of Ramaḍām and has forgiven them what is apart from that?

Just interesting that there is such a difference in opinion.

[mirjamnur]

Salam Youssef

Actually modern zakat of 2.5% and the rest of the percentages (like 10%) are more closely linked to Jewish tradition.

I have asked the same question to a Rabbi on Facebook, who is knowledgable in Jewish-muslim relations (Rabbi Ben Abrahamson)


Q. Question about Zakat? Is there any connection between the tithe, and the Islamic 2.5% zakat? Is there ever mention of 2.5% in Judaic tradition? I only came across the tithe in the Torah?.

A. The word Zakat probably derives from Zedakah. Today Zedakah in Hebrew means Charity, but during the Second Temple times it was a tax. There were several taxes, the 2% (1/50) or 2.5% (1/40) tax was called Terumah.

The Mishnah, Tosefta, and Gemara, include a tract entitled Terumot ("Offerings"), which deals with the laws regulating raised offerings. According to Jewish Law, the "great offering" (terumah gedolah) could only be separated from the non-tithed produce (tevel), and "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) only be separated from "first tithe" (maaser rishon), by its owner, or an authorized, legally permissible agent; minors, deaf-mutes, the mentally ill and non-Jews were not obligated to perform such separation (Terumot 1:1). However, while non-Jews could not act as agents for Jews to separate terumah, the terumah owned by and separated by non-Jews was considered valid and had the status and sanctity of terumah (Terumot 3:9). Based in part on the measures described by the prophet Ezekiel, Jewish Law set the minimum amounts of the "great offering" at 1/60 of the finished produce for a poor person, 1/50 for the average person, and 1/40 for the generous. The "tithe offering" (terumat maaser) was always 10% of the "first tithe" (maaser rishon).

The Talmud opens with a discussion of when the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") prayer should be recited. The Mishnah states that it should be recited when priests who were "unclean" (tamei, טָמֵא ritually impure) are able to enter the Temple to eat their terumah raised-offering (Brachot 2a). This passage is one many which intimately connect the daily rituals of Orthodox Judaism with details of the rhythm of the life of the Temple in Jerusalem.



Also 5 salat also seems to resemble jewish prayers.
http://www.alsadiqin.org/history/Prayer%20Positions.pdf

i make research on this point and came to the same conclusion- there are many Ahadiths mentions 10% agriculture levies and naturals and others speak from 2,5% - all this claims we can found in the Talmud.
The big work will be now to separate the real order in the torah from falsehood- for this reason we have the Quran- but the Quran is quite in this question- so what we should do? Until now, i don't know.

[Wakas]

According to one article in http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Development_Of_Islamic_Ritual.html?id=oCvf76uT3wMC

Initially "zakat" was simple giving to the poor/traveller/etc not set %, and only made obligatory when they migrated to Medina, some say it was after the conquest of Mecca. There is variance on the amount, thus seems to have been fixed sometime after.

[mirjamnur]

Salam Wakas
i can't buy the book. can you give me a short summary of its content?? the most important points only-please?
Thank you very much
peace

[Pouya]

Salaam Miriam!

I have the book here borrowed from the library and i checked through it. Its written by sunni scholars and give us some indications on the prayers history, really i find nothing special in there. It costs so much too, like 170 dollars.