The Book of Zakat
Lesson 1:
Ayatollah al-Azma Fazel Lankarani (May Allah be pleased with him)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Zakat, in its essence, is a pillar of the faith. To deny it is to deny belief itself, a matter made clear in the Book of Purity. The Pure Household (peace be upon them) spoke plainly on this. "He who withholds even a single qirat of it is neither a believer nor a Muslim." And, "Let him die if he wishes, a Jew, or if he wishes, a Christian." And, "No man of wealth, or palm, or crops, or vines, withholds the Zakat of his wealth, but Allah will make the earth's yield a collar around his neck, seven earths deep, until the Day of Judgment." And, "No servant withholds any Zakat from his wealth but Allah will turn it on the Day of Judgment into a fiery serpent, coiled about his neck, tearing at his flesh until the reckoning is done." Such words astonish the mind.
The merit of Zakat is vast, its reward immense. It is said of charity, which includes Zakat, that "Allah nourishes it — as one of you nourishes his child — until He meets him on the Day of Judgment, and it is like Mount Uhud." And, "It repels an evil death." And, "Secret charity extinguishes the wrath of the Lord." These are but a few truths.
First, we must give thanks to God. We must be truly grateful that if God wills, we have been granted the success to begin the Book of Zakat. This is a matter of common need.
The Imam (may his soul be sanctified) laid this out as the text of Tahrir al-Wasilah. We must speak of his statement in several stages, from several directions. The first talk is on the meaning of Zakat. What does Zakat mean?
In the language, Zakat means both purity and growth.
This Zakat we have, both Zakat al-Mal (wealth) and Zakat al-Fitra, holds both meanings. Purity and growth. For purity, the Holy Quran says: "Take, [O Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase." This is the effect of charity. The highest form of charity, its clearest example, is Zakat. That is why the noble verse stating the eight uses of Zakat says "Indeed, [obligatory] charities are..." and not "Zakat." The most prominent and common instance of "charities" is Zakat, which is obligatory charity. In Zakat al-Mal, the matter of purification is present. The matter of growth is also there. According to some narrations we have read, if someone gives a small amount of Zakat, that amount will continually grow for him until the Day of Judgment, when it becomes like Mount Uhud.
This point, I said, is shared between Zakat al-Mal and Zakat al-Fitra. Both have this characteristic. As for the word "Fitra," there are several interpretations. Perhaps the best interpretation and meaning of "Fitra" in Zakat al-Fitra is that it brings health to a person. It means physical growth, and God keeps him away from all illnesses and sickness. This is the effect of Zakat al-Fitra. And perhaps the reason for "Fitra" and its use in this sense is that it preserves the purified soul until the next year when one must pay Zakat al-Fitra. So, Zakat means both purity and growth.
Regarding the legal reality of Zakat, there is nothing more to say than what was said about prayer. If we believed in a legal reality for prayer, we would for Zakat. But we did not believe there was a legal reality for prayer. At most, there is a customary reality. But a legal reality, where the Lawgiver coined the word "prayer" for these actions and recitations we have in prayer, that is not proven. The same goes for Zakat. There is no legal reality for Zakat. So, the first point was about the linguistic meaning of Zakat. Its true nature revolves around the same legal reality discussion as in prayer.
The matter of Zakat being obligatory, one of God's commands, is proven by verses and narrations. No one can dispute this, especially in the Book of God. In most places where "Establish prayer" is mentioned, "And give Zakat" follows. Giving Zakat is mentioned alongside establishing prayer. This is in many verses. Perhaps there are few places in the Quran where "Establish prayer" is found without "And give Zakat," save for a few instances. Usually, this pairing is preserved. In this pairing, a point comes to mind: what is so special about Zakat that God placed it alongside prayer, and wherever "Establish prayer" is mentioned, "And give Zakat" is also brought up?
To my mind, this is the point: God wants to say that Islam, the most complete of religions and the seal of divine religions, is not a religion confined to worship. Perhaps in previous laws, like that of Jesus, spiritual and worship matters were more the focus. But God wants to say that this religion, as the most complete and important of religions, is not only about worship. This religion wants to build society completely, from all dimensions; both in worship and in worldly aspects. Therefore, Zakat is attached to prayer, and this is the truth of the matter. If Zakat is paid by those for whom it is obligatory, and spent on the eight categories mentioned in the verse, the most important of which are the poor and the needy — which we will speak of later, God willing — the result will be that perhaps there will be no poor person left in Muslim society. For the poor will benefit from Zakat. Besides its inherent worth and significance, it may also have a great political role. Many problems that arise against Islam and the revolution stem from poverty and destitution. If the poor had a bare minimum and could manage their daily lives, the world would not oppress them so much, and they would not be humiliated by global arrogance. Financial weakness is what corrupts human society. And to prevent these corruptions and to prevent global powers from dominating Muslims, Islam has raised the issue of Zakat. And at this level, it has not just said that Zakat is like other obligations; rather, it has placed it alongside prayer. "Establish prayer and give Zakat."
In this regard, I must especially point out two things. First, God says in the noble verse: "Those who, if We establish them in the land, will establish prayer and give Zakat and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong." Meaning, according to this noble verse, the first Islamic duty of any rule is to establish prayer and give Zakat. God says: if We give people power and authority, if We make them rulers even over a part of the world, they must first observe these matters of worship and Zakat. After that comes enjoining right and forbidding wrong. Truly, when I encounter this verse, a special feeling comes over me. God says that the result of the clergy's and Shia's power is not just political; it is the implementation of divine laws, among which establishing prayer and giving Zakat are at the top.
The second point is that it is perhaps common to think that "Establish prayer" is different from "Pray." "Establish prayer" means to make prayer stand, to keep it alive, to revive the matter of prayer, and to encourage others to it. "Establish prayer" does not mean this. "Establish prayer" means that a person should pray themselves, even if they have no power to compel others. The word "establish" should not be understood as an additional command beyond performing prayer. Just as in Zakat, the issue is giving it. "Give Zakat" is not like that. "Establish" means to pray. But why use the term "establish"? Why is prayer, in fact, referred to as establishing? This is because of an idiom we also use. A person says, "I stood up to pray," and it is nothing more than that. In the noble verse about ablution, it says: "When you stand for prayer," meaning when you rise for prayer, know that you must perform ablution, and it explains the method of ablution to us. There, too, the word "stand" is used. Or, for example, in Ziyarat Warith, when you address Imam Hussein: "I bear witness that you established prayer and gave Zakat." What does "established" mean? Does it mean you enjoined what is right regarding prayer? Or "I bear witness that you established prayer" means "you prayed," you performed your prayers, you are a person of prayer, you are a person of the greatest divine obligation. "Establish" in the context of prayer means nothing more than this. There are some places where the evidence for this meaning is very clear, such as the noble verse about prayers from noon to night: "Establish prayer at the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night." How can we interpret "establish" here? "Establish prayer at the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night" is no different from performing prayer and making it stand. It means a person should pray. However, in this verse, it addresses this meaning for prayers other than the morning prayer. Do you think there is a possibility in this verse that "establish" means what we have in mind, that is, make prayer stand? This is not needed for "Establish prayer at the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night." The same goes for the morning prayer. "Establish" means to make prayer stand and to pray. Its beginning is the rising of the sun, and its end is the darkness of the night.
There are many confirmations for this point. For instance, in the Iqamah (call to prayer), we say "Qad Qamat al-Salat." Does that mean "establish"? Or does it mean that the prayer has stood up? "Has stood up" is a common idiom. In the context of Iqamah, even if we pray individually, we say, "Qad Qamat al-Salat," meaning the prayer has been established. In short, do not think that "Establish prayer" has an additional meaning beyond "Pray." "Establish prayer" means the same as "Pray," and "Give Zakat" means the same. Perform every Zakat and establish every prayer.
There are other aspects regarding his statement that, God willing, we will discuss further.
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