[Zakat]

Likewise, God has commanded the payment of Zakat and mentioned it in conjunction with performing prayer; as He has said frequently and emphatically: ﴿وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ﴾[1]; “And perform prayer and pay Zakat,” and therefore, it is obligatory for Muslims to pay it as it is obligatory for them to perform prayer, and it is obligatory for the Caliph of God on the earth to take it from them; as He has said to him: ﴿خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾[2]; “Take alms from their wealth to purify them with it and pray for them,” and it is an amount of wealth that he specifies as the intermediary in implementing the rulings of God; as the Prophet specified an amount of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, gold, silver, camels, cows, and sheep depending on the quorum of each of them and disregarded other types of wealth, and he did so as the Caliph of God on the earth and the Imam of Muslims, and for this reason, it is permissible for the Caliph of God on the earth and the Imam of Muslims after him to replace these types of wealth with other types of wealth or add to them in proportion to his time and location; because God has commanded taking alms from Muslims’ wealth, and their wealth in the time and location of the Prophet were often these nine things; considering that they were either farmers who owned wheat, barley, dates, and raisins, like people of Medina, or traders who owned gold and silver, like people of Mecca, or herdsmen who owned camels, cows, and sheep, like people of the desert, and therefore, these nine things were specified by the Prophet in proportion to people of his time and location and in order to take alms from their common wealth according to the command of God, and therefore, it is permissible for his Caliphs appointed by God to specify other things in proportion to people of their time and location and in order to take alms from their common wealth according to the command of God, and this is not considered a violation of the Sunnah of the Prophet , but on the contrary, it is considered to be in full accordance with his Sunnah; especially considering that the purpose of God in commanding the payment of Zakat has been to stop the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich and the increase of class gap among Muslims; as He has said: ﴿كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ﴾[3]; “so that it would not circulate among those of you who are wealthy,” while wheat, barley, dates, raisins, camels, cows, and sheep, although they were considered as wealth in the time and location of the Prophet and often in the hands of the rich, in the current time and location, they are not considered as much wealth and are often found in the hands of the needy, and new types of wealth have appeared instead, which have been concentrated in the hands of the rich and have increased the class gap among Muslims, and it is clear that restricting Zakat to wheat, barley, dates, raisins, camels, cows, and sheep in this case does not achieve the purpose of God in commanding the payment of Zakat, but rather it may violate it. Although the intended meaning of gold and silver in the time and location of the Prophet was dinar and dirham, which were the common currency among Muslims, and therefore, the payment of Zakat on them meant the payment of Zakat on the common currency, which was considered a fixed criterion for measuring wealth, ‏but many Muslim jurists have not deduced such a ruling from it, nor have they issued a fatwa regarding the payment of Zakat on the common currency, but rather they have said that Zakat must be paid on coined gold and silver, while they are not often the common currency in the current time and location, and paper and fiat money has prevailed instead, which Zakat is not paid on it in their opinion, and this has led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich and the increase of class gap among Muslims, contrary to the purpose of God in legislating Zakat.