CONTENTS Page Foreword .................................................................................................................... i Translator Introduction ........………………….......................................................... iii Glossary ..................................................................................................................... v Fiqh Al Zakah (Volume I) Author Introduction ......................………....................................................... xxi Approach and Plan of this Study ................................................................... xxv The Words: Zakah and Sadaqah …..………………………………………. xxxix Part One : The Obligatory Nature of Zakah and Its Place in Islam Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3 Part Two : On Whom is Zakah Obligatory Section One: Zakah is Not Required from Non-Muslim……………….......... 33 Section Two: Zakah on Children and the Insane ............................................. 38 Part Three : Zakatable Wealth in terms of Amount and Their Ratio Chapter One: Zakatable Assets ......................................................................... 53 Chapter Two: Zakah on Livestock .................................................................. 81 Chapter Three : Zakah on Gold and Silver………………………………... 123 Chapter Four : Zakah on Business Inventory…..…………………………... 161 Chapter Five : Zakah on Agriculture ………………………………............ 175 Chapter Six : Zakah on Honey and Animal Products…………………........ 213 Chapter Seven : Zakah on Minerals and Sea Products…………………... 221 Chapter Eight : Zakah on Exploited Assets……………………………... 235 Chapter Nine : Zakah on Earning of Laborers Professionals……………... 251 Chapter Ten : Zakah on Business Inventory…..………………………... 269 Advisory Committee for Approving Publications at Centre for Research in Islamic Economics Sheikh Dr. Salih Ebin Humade Prof. Dr. Mohammad Umer Zubair Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari Dr. Mohammad Ebin Muslim Al-Raddady FOREWORD In the hierarchy of Islamic faith and religious duties zakat is next only to the acclamation of Allah's unity and prophecy of Muhamnad (peace be unto him) and the five daily prayers. It is rather significant that a measure of far reaching economic consequences should find such a high place in that hierarchy and be counted as one of the five pillars o Islam. Zakat is doubly important in the way of life that is Islam. On the one hand it is a means of spiritual purification and on the other a way to regain balance and equilibrium in social and economic life. One would expect religious scholars as well as economists not to miss these points and pay due attention to this unique institution. However, the subject of zakat did not attract the attention of contemporary scholars to an extent commensurate with its importance. There is a need for economists, legal experts and shariah scholars who would elaborate and analyze the law of zakat in a contemporary manner. Sheikh Yusuf al Qardawi's book is one of those exceptions to the above which give one the needed hope and reassurance to carry on. First published more than twenty five years ago, Fiqh al Zakat still remains unparalleled in its comprehensiveness exposition and depth. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that we present it to the English reading public. Zakat has always been a priority subject with us at the Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. Besides the papers on zakat included in the proceedings of the First International .Conference on Islamic Economics, published under the titles Studies in Islamic Economics (1980) and al Iqtisad al Islami (1980) the Centre has also published Fatawa al Zakat (1985) by Sheikh Abul A'al al Mawdudi and Prof. M. Raquibuzzaman's Some Administrative Aspects of the Collection and Distribution of Zakat...." (1987). Of special significance is our Arabic translation of the Zakat Manual prepared by the Central Zakat Administration in Pakistan. Translated by Rafic al Misri and comprising 526 pages, Kitab al Zakat: Qanunuha, Idaratuha, Muhasabatuha, Muraja'atuha (1984), is a compendium of operational details without any parallel in modern times. We hope these modest efforts for promoting zakat studies will help in attracting greater attention to the subject. The Centre will be glad to support further studies on the subject and welcomes any proposal for studying its legal, historical, and contemporary economic aspects. i ii Fiqh al Zakah (Vol. I), Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi Our author hardly needs an introduction. Dean of Shariah College at University of Qatar, and member of several Academies of Islamic Jurisprudence and Shariah Advisory Bodies to Islamic financial institutions, Egypt born Sheikh al Qardawi is also a popular writer and frequent speaker on the subjects of Islam, contemporary Islamic movements and the economic system of Islam. We feel honored in presenting his magnum opus on zakat to the English readers. However, no scholarly work can be the last word on any subject. The same applies to this work, especially now that recent attempts to implement zakat in several countries - most were made after the book was written - have thrown up new problems. We hope the publication of an English version of Qardawi's book will bring unattended issues into sharper focus while improving our understanding of the many issues already discussed. We are very grateful to Sheikh al Qardawi for his generous permission to translate and publish his book. Thanks are also due to Monzer Kahf in whom we found an excellent translator befitting the text. Abdul Azim Islahi's meticulous review of the translation has also helped in bringing out an error-free translation to the best of our capacity: For, Allah alone is free of error, and to Him we turn for help and forgiveness. Mohamad Ali Elgari Director Centre for Research in Islamic Economics King Abdulaziz University Jeddah. TRANSLATOR INTRODUCTION Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi has his own style in Arabic writing. Being not only an academic scholar (currently he is the dean of college of Shari'ah at the university of Oatar, in Doha, Qatar) but also an enthusiastic preacher by his nature, his style can be described as detail and long breathed. The book Fiqh al Zakah, itself is highly scholarly but it does not miss the spirit of an activist or the zeal of a religious writer. The general approach adopted in this translation is to elucidate the meaning of the Arabic sentence in English instead of going word by word, yet in so doing I attempted not to miss his original ideas , words and sequence as much as possible. Some details are omitted in a few cases, e.g. the comparison of nisab in Egyptian golden currency of the beginning of the 20th century. A few paragraphs are abridged and other summarized when the translator felt that they contain details of no interest to the English reader. Sometimes a few words are added when translation did not convey the intended meaning completely. Additions are usually put within brackets. Except when the meaning of the Arabic origin was not lent to English expression transliterated Arabic words were not used. Thus the use of Arabic words in the English text is minimized to idioms and Arabic words given religious contents that have no equivalent in English. The letters (J) and (P) are put to mean "Jalla Jalaluh", and "Peace and Prayer be on him" after the words God and the Prophet respectively. The more common expression after the word God is Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, but it was avoided in order to escape symbolizing it by the letter(s) which is used often for plural. Monzer Kahf iii GLOSSARY* A. for a narrator of sayings, when his ,[ ﻣﺘﺮوك اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ Abandoned : [matruk al Hadith narrations are not admitted by the standard rules of sayings scrutinization. for a saying, rejected as denied , [ﺡﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ Absurd : [ Hadith munkar approval by standard rules. for a saying, reported by both al ,[ﻣﺘﻔﻖ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ Agreed upon : [ muttafaq 'alaih Bukhari and Muslim. .p. of hukm, rulings of Shari'ah and its conjunctions [ أﺡﻜﺎم] : Ahkam family of the Prophet (P), i.e. descendents of his great ,[ أهﻞ اﻟﺒﻴﺖ] : Ahl al Bait grand father, Hashim and the latter's brother al Muttalib. specialists in the studies of the Prophet's sayings. It ,[ أهﻞ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ] : Ahl al Hadith refers sometimes to a quasi school of fiqh characterized by emphasizing sayings at the expenses of analogy. or people of opinion: those scholars who believe in ,[أهﻞ اﻟﺮأي] : Ahl al Ra'i rationale based on logical analysis, especially analogy, as one of the sources of deriving Shari'ah rulings and ahkam. They usually include, among others, the Hanafites and the Malikites. ___________________ * This glossary includes only important words terms; sentences and expressions which appear in the text - not defined - and have special specific meaning in Shari'ah. v vi Fiqh al Zakah (Vol. I), Dr. Yusuf al Qardawi People of opinion methodology of jurisprudence which ,[ اهﻞ اﻟﺮأي] : Ahl al Ra'i depends heavily on logical derivation of rulings. .People of the book, Christians and Jews [ اهﻞ اﻟﻜﺘﺎب] : Ahl al Kitab People of War, non-Muslims with whom Muslims are,[ اهﻞ اﻟﺤﺮب] : Ahl al Harb in a state of war. non-Muslims permitted in Muslim State ,[اهﻞ اﻟﺬﻣﺔ , اهﻞ اﻟﻌﻬﺪ] : Ahl al 'Ahd or Ahl al Dhimmah temporarily or permanently. Predecessors, ancestors, it refers to the early few ,[اﻟﺴﻠﻒ] : al Salaf generations of Islam. Non- Monopolistic trade merchant who [اﻟﺘﺎﺟﺮ ﻏﻴﺮ اﻟﻤﺤﺘﻜﺮاﻟﺘﺎﺟﺮ اﻟﻤﺪﻳﺮ] : al Tajir al Mudir has no storage