Generosity is good, Zakat is bad

This important essay was first published by Henrik R. Clausen and reprinted here with his permission.
EuropeNews Essay May 25 2008

Zakat, one of the "Five Pillars of Islam", is a religious tax introduced for the benefit of the poor and needy, as well as for the advancement of Islam itself, is often quoted as one of the best elements of Islam. This essay sets out to examine the gap between the stated intention and reality.

Historically, Zakat being one of the five 'pillars' of Islam, is the holy tax introduced by Muhammad. A bit of background information seems in order.

It is not without precedent, as Muhammads fifth generation ancestor Qusayy had formalized the religious rituals at the Kaa'ba, including a tax (rifada) on wealthy pilgrims that would enable the poorer pilgrims to afford the costs of the pilgrimage.

Depending on one's view of pre-Islamic paganism, one could consider this tax 'holy', or just a tool of the Meccan traders to increase the income from the wealthier pilgrims. As Islam has now replaced paganism, this is mainly of academic interest. It is worth noting, though, that the scope of this tax was closely tied to the Kaa'ba and the Hajj/Umra pilgrimages.

Zakat isn't, and that's important. Zakat is payable to Islamic rulers anywhere, who will then dispose over the resources. Hajj and Umra remain as important in Islam as they were in paganism, of course, and still have a marginal connection to the Zakat.

The purpose of Zakat
The intended purposes of Zakat are, as listed by SunniPath):

* The foremost and primary purpose is to distribute the wealth of the community among the poor ..."

The emphasis on the community is an Islamic classic, and it makes sense. For if individuals with talent for trade and business were to have too much economical power, they, not the Islamic leaders, would direct the community. Unfortunately (will be elaborated below), this is not good for productivity in society. The Soviet Union also emphasized the community over the individual, leading to extensive irresponsibility and neglect. And, as in the Soviet Union, Islamic countries have not become affluent by this approach.

* Removing the love of wealth from one's heart, a spiritual disease that could be detrimental to one's Iman. Thus, it is a form of Tazkiya (self-purification)."

Now, it might seem weird that any religion would request to remove any kind of love from one's heart, but this indeed is the case here. It's a bit contradictory, for what is actually the problem of loving wealth? It is clearly assumed that there is some problem, but the nature of the problem is unclear. Is it inherently bad to have a nice house, good clothes, healthy food and money to spare with friends and family?

But we do get a clue with the reference to Iman (faith). People who have their material needs fulfilled and confidence that this will be the case later as well, are less likely to bother with religion. Material wealth does diminish religiousness, as we can see in the West, and that in turn diminishes the power base of religious leaders.

Continue reading this excellent article here

Comments

[Osman Sen]

Regarding the first purpose
* Zakat does not imply communism. You can be the richest person in the world and you can remain so as long as you give a small portion of your savings as zakat. Zakat is not applied to your business.

The second purpose
* You may live in a palace, you may be very rich, you may wear good clothes. The point is weather you own them or they own you. If it is very hard for you to be generous and spend for the good of others, then it means the material owns you, you do not own them.

[Tarik]

let me clarify a few points of misunderstanding.
You summed up zakat in a few short sentences and i'll sum up your arguments.

Tell me which goverment doesn't tax its people. Are you saying Russia taxes its people and Britain or america doesn't.
Islam recognises the wealthy and the poor. It recognises and allows an individual to become wealthy. What it does is also recognise that some people have no wealth and so imposes an injuction to redistribute 2.5% of that wealth to the poor (i.e. the starving in africa). You think that this compares to the taxes the british goverment imposes on its people, let me list you a few if you earn over £6,035 then you will be taxed at 20% and over £34600 then 40%. thats just income tax. What about VAT. nearly everything you purchase in Uk you must pay VAT which is a 17.5% on all goods with a few exceptions like childrens clothes etc. Most people own a car and put petrol in on which you get taxed which was around 50p per litre plus VAT. If i was working and earned 20,000 and put in 100 litres of petrol every month and did 300 pounds of shopping then on an income of 20,000 i will be paying
2,800 + £85 for fuel + £630 for shopping plus about £1000 council tax so all in all i'm paying the goverment about £4500 in taxes. In the islamic system you would be liable to pay 2.5% tax on any money you saved in a financial year but only if it came above a certain limit.

In islamic law this is the only tax the the state can impose on you. Compare this to the capitalist system or communist system. What do people get taxed in the variuos states of USA. i've visited USA and some states have taxes as high as 50% when you really work out what your paying. So please don't be blinded.

I am not saying one system is better than another but you give such a narrow point of view i thought that i would expand on it

Actually islamic states did become affluent even with the zakat system in place. There are strict rules on Zakat and how it should be given. Zakat CANNOT be given to a mosque or an organisation. Even those organisations that exist as charities are not supposed to distribute the zakat. It is an individuals responsibilty to make sure that their zakat reaches one in need. the one in need must meet the criteria for being eligible for it. Only the goverment can collect it but again they cannot distribute to say for example to fund a project or pay soldiers wages as their is a strict criteria for who is eligble and foremost it is the hungry, destitute and orphaned etc.

so please don't try to compare this act of worship of muslims to something that it cannot be compared to. Islam is not communist or free market capitalist. Islam recognises the super rich and allows them to keep their wealth, their is nothing wrong with being extremely rich and muslim.

Every system has a weakness and will reach its end one day. The muslims always hark back to the glory days as do the British. Times move on, people move on. One day this system will end. Its the nature of the world. Nothing to be afraid of, just part of life.

thanks for reading