Learn How To Read Arabic in 24 hours or less

Tag: fiqh

Can I give Zakat to several people?

Jul. 22 Financial Planning, Islamic Law 7 comments

Question: Can I give Zakat to several people?

Answer: You can give all of your zakat to one person as long as he/she is eligible. You may also divide up your zakat and pay it to several people, as long as they are eligible under one of the eight categories.

For example: You have 300 USD to give as Zakat, you can give 300 to one person or divide it up amongst a group of people from one category, 5 debtors for example, each getting 60 USD each. You can also divide it up amongst eligible people of several categories, i.e. 1 poor person, 1 debtor, 1 refugee, 1 new muslim, etc.

And Allah knows best.

Tags: charity, eligibility, fiqh, Islamic Law, shariah, Zakat

Deconstructing Islamic Law – Categories of Islamic Law

Nov. 04 Islamic Law Comments Off

Continuing along the lines of deconstructing Islamic Law, I thought I would outline here the high-level categories of Islamic law as laid out in most Islamic legal texts.

#1 – Binary

Islamic law can be look at in a binary sense, i.e. with two main categories:

  1. ‘Ibadat – Acts of Devotion
    This includes prayer, purity (being a condition for prayer), fasting, pilgrimage, customs, food and drink, in general all of those things that are done out of personal conviction in devotion to God.
  2. Mu’amalat – Civil actions
    Business, loans, partnerships, Criminal law, family law, the judiciary, international relations, etc… in general all of those things which involve interacting with other human beings.

#2 – another binary form
Islamic Law can also be categorized into another binary form

  1. Usul – Fundamentals
  2. Furu’ – secondary issues

In this categorization, law is looked at in the bigger picture, taking into consideration the basis for which the individual laws were formed. this is similar to the differentiation between postive and natural law.

#3 – Trinary

  1. ‘Ibadat – Acts of Devotion
  2. Mu’amalat – Civil actions
  3. Customs – this differs here from #1 in that customs are not necessarily acts of devotion, but are regulated in that they usually involve society as a whole. It also differs with mu’malat in that there is generally no communative or charitable ‘exchange’ going on here, even though there is a cultural one.

#4- quaternary

  1. ‘Ibadat – Acts of Devotion
  2. Mu’amalat – Civil actions
  3. al-ankiHah or Fiqh al-Usrah – Family Law
  4. Fiqh al-Jinayat – Penal law

#5 – quinternary

  1. ‘Ibadat – Acts of Devotion
  2. Mu’amalat – Civil actions
  3. al-ankiHah or Fiqh al-Usrah – Family Law
  4. Fiqh al-Jinayat – Penal law
  5. al-Siyar – International relations

#6 – septenary

  1. ‘Ibadat – Acts of Devotion
  2. Mu’amalat – Civil actions
  3. al-ankiHah or Fiqh al-Usrah – Family Law
  4. ‘Ilm al-QaDa’ – Judicial law (including arbitration)
  5. Fiqh al-Jinayat – Penal law
  6. al-Siyar – International relations
  7. al-Siyasah -literally politics, but here meaning domestic affairs
Tags: fiqh, Islamic, Islamic Law, Law, Legal, legal development, Legal Theory

Deconstructing Islamic Law – Focus on Fiqh texts (2)

Oct. 28 Financial Planning, Islamic Law Comments Off

Last time we looked at Fiqh texts we mentioned:

If we look at them substantially, they consist of:

  1. textually gleaned understandings (i.e. from Quran and Hadith)
  2. issues of consensus
  3. opinions of the companions an/or their students
  4. opinions of the “Imam” of that particular school
  5. and at times opinions of the leaders of that Imam’s school after him

This time I’d like to discuss each of these in brief:

1. Textually gleaned understandings

This first category is made up of understandings taken from the texts of the Quran and Sunnah. Both of these contain texts which can generally be divided up into three categories:

A. Texts which are explicit and unequivocal in nature, i.e. they will not and cannot hold more than one meaning without deviating from their true linguistic meanings and invoking some type of heterodox interpretation. This category is know as a “Nass” (نصّ).

And example of this would be the verse (وَآتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ ) “And give its right the day of Harvest…” 6:141. The meaning taken from this verse is that zakat is due on crops the day they are harvested. No one can rightfully construe this verse to mean something other than that apparent without invoking an interpretation that would not only be foreign to the corpus of Islamic legal understanding but to the Arabic Language as well.

An example of deviant misinterpretation of the Quran would be construing this verse (إِنَّ اللّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تَذْبَحُواْ بَقَرَةً ) “…God orders you to slaughter a cow…” 2:67, which was directed to the Children of Israel at the time of Moses to mean that God has ordered the slaughter of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad. Such an interpretation is neither logical nor in accordance with sane readings of the texts legally or linguistically.

B. Texts which contain more than one meaning, yet one of these is presumed stronger than the other. This is called a “Zahir” text (ظاهر).

An example of this would be the hadith narrated by Muslim:

“For every forty sheep, a sheep.” (في أربعين شاة شاة)

The apparent meaning of this hadith is that a Shepard who owns forty sheep must pay one sheep as Zakat. Other scholars said that the meaning of this hadith is that he must pay the price of one sheep as zakat, not that he is obligated to pay the actual sheep. Regardless of Juristic polemics surrounding the issue at hand, when analyzed singularly the strength of first meaning is more presumptuous than that of the second.

C. Texts which contain multiple meanings, it being impossible to designate one of these meanings without an external texts or meaning to help determine it. This type is called “Mujmal” (مجمل). The process by which it is clarified is called “Bayan” (بيان). It is then known as a “Mubayyan” (مبين) text.

For example the 3rd verse of Surah al- Mujadilah

(وَالَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِن نِّسَائِهِمْ ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا قَالُوا فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَتَمَاسَّا)
“Those that commit Zihar from their wives then return to that which they said must free a slave before they reunite…”

The description of the slave here is an unknown, is it a believing slave as mentioned in other verse (4:92) or not? Does a slave who is impaired count? and so on and so forth. Some would say that in this instance we must look at similar instances in the texts, and judge the ambiguity of this text by the explicitly of the others. Other disagreed.

The point in all of this is that the multiplicity of opinion based on B & C is found in works of Fiqh, and fiqh texts become the junction of linguistic, inductive, and logical arguments; these all leading to the categories following this first one.

Tags: fiqh, Islamic Law, Law, Legal, matn, usool

Deconstructing Islamic Law – Focus on Fiqh texts (1)

Oct. 21 Islamic Law 2 comments

fiqh booksFiqh texts are made up of various components:

I. If we look at them compositely they contain:

  1. definitions
  2. rulings
  3. examples
  4. exceptions

II. If we look at them substantially, they consist of:

  1. textually gleaned understandings (i.e. from Quran and Hadith)
  2. issues of consensus
  3. opinions of the companions an/or their students
  4. opinions of the “Imam” of that particular school
  5. and at times opinions of the leaders of that Imam’s school after him

III. And if we look at them structurally then they consist of:

  1. chapters
  2. sections
  3. and subsections

With the latter being pretty obvious, the rulings that were expressed throughout those chapters, etc . and compose “Fiqh” were gathered to create a new form of text: al-Ashbah wa ‘l-NaZa’ir. These texts were not categorized like fiqh texts, even though they deal directly with the same substance of fiqh. Instead “ashbah” or “semblances” and “naZa’ir” or “relations” were correlated. Rulings that resemble each other were analyzed along side each other, and others which were related but did not have the same outcome were as well. From these the science of Qawaid Fiqhiyyah developed (for an excellent article on the subject look here). Some of these works were intra-school works, while others were comprehensive of different schools.

Other texts were created from Fiqh texts as well, such as the texts that deal with the “Mufradat” of a particular school and its Imam. Perhaps the most famous of all Imams in his “Mufradat” (i.e. issue in which he held a singular opinion) is Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. This was for several reasons, one being that he was the latest of the four Imams to have a codified school gain prominence, as well as the fact that he was the one Imam from the four that narrated the most hadith, in addition to his keenness to collect the opinions of those scholars that preceded him, especially those of Ahl al-Hadith.

A third type of text was created out of fiqh texts, that of “Furuq” or differentiation between rulings, definitions, and exceptions. These works, although few in number, detail the differences between seemingly similar things, their exceptions, and the reasoning behind that. These texts are closely related to those of “Qawaid fiqhiyyah” and as such many of the early authors of such texts were those that gained prominence for their “Qawaid” writings in both fiqh and Usul.

Tags: fiqh, Islamic Law, Law, Legal, matn, texts

Is zakat for non-Muslims?

Aug. 03 Financial Planning, Islamic Law Comments Off

Can Zakat be given to Non-Muslims?

There is general agreement that Zakat is not to be given to anyone who is fighting against Islam and Muslims; this is a point that does not need much elaboration. As for others who are non-combatant, and do not show enmity towards Islam and Muslims then medieval scholars differed as to whether such a person can be given Zakat.

Ibn al-Mundhir, in his influential work al-Ijma’, mentions the following:

وأجمعوا على أن الذمي لا يعطى من زكاة الأموال شيئا

They have consensus that the Dhimmi[1]
is not to be given anything from Zakat of wealth.

Given the relation of this point of consensus, many scholars followed Ibn al-Mundhir stating that non-Muslims should not be given Zakat. It is important to note here that the same set of scholars who followed this opinion reiterated the necessity of using other non-Zakat funds for the welfare of non-Muslims.

Looking at Ibn al-Mundhir’s statement, and despite the frankness of his assertion, a cursory review of the literature on Zakat shows that in fact there are variant opinions on this topic.

In summary, there are four opinions on giving Zakat to non-Muslims:

-         Opinion #1: Zakat cannot to be given to non-Muslims in any way shape or form, not even under the account of “those whose hearts are softened”.

  • This opinion is the official position of the Hanafi school.
  • Basis: Several reports that Umar refused to give Zakat to several people after Islam had become strong.

-         Opinion #2: Zakat should only be given to non-Muslims under the account of “those whose hearts are softened”.

  • This is the official stance of the other 3 schools.
  • Basis: Narrations  exist where the Prophet gave non-Muslims Zakat to entice them to become Muslims.

-         Opinion #3: That Zakat should only be given to non-Muslims in the absence of eligible Muslims.

  • This was the opinion of Mujahid, the student of Ibn Abbas. [2]
  • Basis: The hadith of Muadh states “..taken from their wealthy and given to their rich…”, poor non-Muslims being members of communities in which rich Muslim might live.

-         Opinion #4: That Zakat may be given to any person fitting the description given in the verse of Zakat, regardless of whether this person be Muslim or non-Muslim.

  • This was related from Umar, Jabir and Zufar (from the Hanafi school) and others.
  • Basis:
    • The generality of the verses on Zakat and charity, which do not in themselves specify one type of person over the other, and instead designate categories.
    • Umar was asked about the verse “Charity is only for the destitute…” He said: “They are the disabled from the People of the Book”.[3]
    • Jabir ibn Zaid, the famous jurist from the Tabi’in, was asked “Where should be distribute our Zakat?” He replied: “To the destitute amongst Muslims and Dhimmis.” He then stated “God’s Messenger would distribute to the Dhimmis from both Zakat and al-Khumus”.[4]

The fourth opinion fits not only the generality of the verse, but the broadest understanding possible of the hadith of Muadh, as well as fitting in with the explanation of Umar of the verse. It would seem that the unequivocal nature of Ibn al-Mundhir’s statement, as well as its precision, is highly debatable and due further research.

[1] – A dhimmi is a non-Muslim citizen of the Islamic state

[2] – Ibn abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, 3/177.

[3] – Ibn abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, 3/178.

[4] – Ibn abi Shaibah, Al-Musannaf, 3/178.

Tags: fiqh, Islamic Law, legal development, Zakat

Zakat Workshop – Tomorrow

Jul. 29 Uncategorized Comments Off

One more day till we start our Zakat Workshop here in Houston:

  • It’ll be an interactive course, so no spoon-fed information.
  • All attendees will be expected to participate and give feedback.
  • Each day will build on the previous, so be sure not to miss any.
  • Admission is $50, all of which will go to local charities.
Tags: class, fiqh, fitr, Islamic Law, sadaqah, work, workshop, Zakat

Purification of Wealth – A 3-Day Interactive Workshop on Zakah

Jul. 19 Islamic Law Comments Off

This July 30th to August 1st, myself and a few friends will be meeting to review the topic of zakat, covering all the essentials that one would need to perform this important act of worship and vital public service.

The class has been divided into 3 units, each concentrating on a different aspect of Zakat.

-          On day one, we’ll cover the reasons why we pay zakat and some of the etiquette involved. Then we’ll take a trip through the Historical Development of Zakat laws, touching on a few issues that will make a difference in how to understand the collection, distribution, and management of zakat. We’ll cover the virtues of charity and the responsibility of  Wealth, and how does that responsibility translate into giving Zakat and Charity?

-          On day two we’ll go over the Essential rules and concepts behind Zakat, covering the major areas that are relevant to both classical Zakat rulings and our social context at home.  Most importantly, we’ll cover the reasoning behind all of these questions, the primary evidence for them from the Quran and Sunnah, and establish principles for applying these concepts. Like day one, we’ll end with a review of the material.

-          On day three we’ll cover Advanced topics in Zakat, applying what we learned in days one and two as well as covering some additional topics relevant to our daily lives.

  • The personal and organizational management of zakat.
  • Do my student loans effect my liability for zakat?
  • What if I am paying a mortgage?
  • Do I have to pay zakat on my Roth IRA or my 401k plan?
  • I’ve loaned someone money, do I pay Zakat on that amount as well?
  • What about…
    • …Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds?
    • … insurance payments?
    • …political donations?
    • … gifts I give to friends and family I make dawah to?
  • How does zakat relate to paying taxes?
  • Can someone else manage the payment of my zakat?
  • Can an organization that manages zakat invest it for the poor, etc?

Along with this, we’ll discuss how Zakat helps not only to eradicate poverty, but how it can improve the social, medical, and educational well-being of our communities.

Lastly, given the closeness of Ramadan, we’ll cover the important topic of Zakat al-Fitr.

I hope to see all of you there this July 30th to August 1st.

Tags: charity, class, clinic, fiqh, Islamic Law, ramadan, sadaqah, zakah, Zakat, zakat al fitr