Zakh Must Be Paid on the Same Wealth Year After Year

05/12/2013 04:06

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Zakh Must Be Paid on the Same Wealth

Year After Year
Zakah & Charity [1]
Date:
Wed, 01/01/2003
Author:
Prepared by the research committee of IslamToday.net [2]
Body:
There is a new and unprecedented idea circulating these days regarding the payment of
Zakh. This is a grave situation indeed, since Zakh is one of the five pillars of Islam. Some
people are claiming that once a person pays Zakh on wealth that is in his possession, he
never again has to pay Zakh on that same wealth as long as he lives. Those that are making
this claim are challenging others to bring forth evidence from the Qur'n and Sunnah to the
contrary.
In truth, the idea that once Zakh is paid on specific wealth, then that wealth is exempted from
Zakh forever - this is the new idea that no one had ever understood from the evidence
before. It was not understood by the Companions during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be
upon him) nor by anyone thereafter at least not until now.
It is, in fact, a matter of juristic consensus (ijm`) that Zakh must be paid on all wealth that
remains with a person for a full year, even if the owner of that wealth paid Zakh on it the
previous year. Ibn Qudmah said: "We do not know any disagreement therein, and whoever
says something to the contrary is clearly mistaken." [al-Mughn (4/73)]
It was related by `Ali that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If you have 200 dirhams and
a year passes, then you must pay on it five dirhams. You do not have to pay anything for the
gold you possess until it reaches twenty dinars. If you possess twenty dinars and a year
passes, then you are liable to pay half a dinar." [Related by Abu Dwd and authenticated by
al-Albn in Sahh al-Sunan] Nowhere in this hadth does it say that this is only for the first
year that the money is in your possession. Its wording is general for any money in your
possession for a full year. Anyone making a claim to the contrary is the one who must furnish
proof.
It was also related by `Abd Allah b. Mu'wiyah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever does three things will feel the taste of belief: worshipping Allah alone, believing that
there is no god but Allah, and paying Zakh willingly and continuously every year." [Sunan
Abu Dwd 1580 with an authentic line of transmission]
We can see clearly how the Zakh is levied on the same wealth year after year if we consider
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Zakh Must Be Paid on the Same Wealth Year After Year

05/12/2013 04:06

the Zakh on livestock.

In case someone might object to the idea that there is Zakh on livestock, we must mention
that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that on the Day of Resurrection: "camels will
come to their owner in the best state of health they ever had in their worldly lives, and if he
had not paid their Zakh (in the world) then they would tread him with their feet. Similarly,
sheep will come to their owner in the best state of health they ever had in the world, and if he
had not paid their Zakh, then they would tread him with their hooves and would butt him with
their horns." [Sahh al-Bukhr] This hadth shows just how serious the matter of Zakh is and
why it is important to make sure that we pay what is due from us.
In order to properly understand how Zakh is levied on livestock, we must carefully read the
document that Ab Bakr wrote to his appointee to Bahrain explaining in detail the payment of
Zakh on both livestock and money.
Anas b. Mlik said: "When Abu Bakr; sent me to Bahrain, he wrote to me the following:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. These are the orders for Zakh that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)
had made obligatory for every Muslim, and which Allah had ordered His Messenger to observe.

Whoever amongst the Muslims is asked to pay Zakh according to what is described herein, then he should pay it to the Zakh
collector, and whoever is asked more than that should not pay it.

For twenty-four camels or less, sheep are to be paid as Zakh; for every five camels one sheep is to be paid, and if there are
between twenty-five to thirty-five camels, a single one-year-old camel is to be paid; and if there are between thirty-six to fortyfive camels, one two-year-old camel is to be paid; and if there are between forty-six to sixty (camels), one three-year-old camel
is to be paid; and if the number is between sixty-one to seventy-five, one four-year-old camel is to be paid; and if the number is
between seventy-six to ninety, two two-year-old camels are to be paid; and if there are from ninety-one to one-hundred-and
twenty, two three-year-old camels are to be paid; and if there are over one-hundred and-twenty, then for every forty camels (over
one-hundred-and-twenty) one two-year-old camel is to be paid, and for every fifty camels (over one-hundred-and-twenty) one
three-year-old camel is to be paid; and whoever has got only four camels, has to pay nothing as Zakh, but if the owner of these
four camels wants to give something, he can. If the number of camels increases to five, the owner has to pay one sheep as
Zakh.

As regards the Zakh for sheep; if there are between forty and one-hundred-and-twenty sheep, one sheep is to be paid; and if
there are between one-hundred-and-twenty to two hundred (sheep), two sheep are to be paid; and if there are between twohundred to three-hundred (sheep), three sheep are to be paid; and for over three-hundred sheep, for every extra hundred sheep,
one sheep is to be paid as Zakh. And if somebody possesses less than forty sheep, no Zakh is required, but if he wants to
give, he can.

For silver the Zakh is one-fortieth of the lot (i.e. 2.5%), and if its value is less than two-hundred Dirhams, Zakh is not required,
but if the owner wants to pay he can

This description should make it perfectly clear that Zakh is levied on the same wealth year
after year. Otherwise, it would have needed to specify that only newborn animals and newly
acquired livestock are to be counted. Nowhere does it make that qualification. A herd of
animals does not get replaced annually. The animals live for many years in the herd, in fact a
considerable number of years when we are dealing with camels. They only leave the herd
when they are slaughtered, sold, or die. If Zakh is to be levied on specific wealth in a
person's possession only once, then only the new animals in the herd would have to be
counted. This is clearly not the case.
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When the Companions sent their tax assessors to the people to take the Zakh on their
livestock, they counted the heads of all cattle, sheep, and camels in their possession.
Likewise, the following year, they counted all the heads of all the livestock again, including
those animals that were counted in the previous year. They did not count only the heads of
newborn animals and yearlings and enquire about which animals were newly purchased.
Never has it once been mentioned that Zakh was levied only on the livestock that was newly
acquired or that was newly born. This would be the necessary procedure after the first year if
Zakh is to be levied on specific wealth only once. This means clearly that Zakh was always
being paid on the same wealth year after year.
There was no objection to this practice during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
nor during the lives of those who came after him. This practice then continued unabated
throughout the Muslim world wherever Islamic Law was implemented. It is a matter of
consensus.
It is a newly concocted idea that once Zakh is paid on specific wealth, then that wealth is
eternally exempted from Zakh for all of the years it remains in the same person's
possession. All of the textual evidence about Zakh is general. Nowhere is it specified by the
provision that Zakh is only due on wealth that has never had Zakh paid on it before. The
burden of proof falls on the shoulders of those people who are making such a claim.
We cannot go against the consensus of the Muslim nation from the time of the Prophet
(peace be upon him) onwards, just because someone today has come up with a new idea,
especially on a matter as important as one of the pillars of Islam.
Please note that there is no difference between money (gold and silver) and livestock in the
obligation of paying Zakh annually. Both are mentioned in the same document. The only
difference is that collectors of Zakh could only effectively count the heads of cattle and
estimate the amount of agricultural produce. In the old days, there was no practical way to
count all the gold and silver in a person's possession. They usually had to rely on the honesty
and piety of the people in that matter.
We believe the problem today is that people are no longer living under Islamic Law and they
have lost touch with the practical meaning of Zakh. They only understand Zakh in terms of
money and, by misunderstanding the textual evidence, are coming up with misconceptions
that have never been heard of before.
Zakah & Charity
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[2] http://en.islamtoday.net/author-246.htm

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