ZAKAT: A Pillar of Islam

In his Friday sermon of August 26, 2011 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius reflected on the spiritual significance of Zakat.

Read from the Extracts:

“Zakat is an obligatory act of charity enjoined on every eligible Muslim individual. It is an act of worship and an effective form of achieving social justice. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and is prescribed in the Quran and Hadith.

The root of the word Zakat in Arabic means blessing, growth, cleanliness or betterment. In Shariah, the word Zakat refers to the determined share of wealth prescribed by Allah to be distributed among the categories of those entitled to receive it. It is also used to mean the action of paying this share. Growth and cleanliness are not restricted to the assets from which Zakat has been taken, but affect the person who pays Zakat, in accordance with verse 104 of Surah 9 (At-Tauba).

“Take Sadaqa (Zakat) from their wealth to purify and cleanse them.”

Zakat, as known in the Shariah, is sometimes called Sadaqa. In fact, Sadaqa covers both Zakat and voluntary charity for any righteous purpose. In the later history of Islam, Sadaqa was used to mean voluntary charitable donations given to the destitute.

Zakat is an act of worship that purifies a Muslim’s wealth and soul. Wealth purification denotes the Mobilisation of assets for the purpose of financial growth and justified distribution. Purification of the soul implies the freedom from hatred, jealousy, selfishness and greed.

Technically, Zakat is a yearly fixed proportion taken from the surplus wealth and earnings of a Muslim. It is then distributed to prescribed beneficiaries for the welfare of the Muslim society. It is paid on the net balance after a Muslim has deducted his expenses on personal, family and other necessities. At the end of the year, if he or she is in possession of the equivalent of 85 grams of gold or more in cash or articles of trade, he or she must pay Zakat at the rate of 2.5%. It also applies to agricultural products and to livestock.

In the Holy Quran, the term Zakat is mentioned in several verses. It occurs thirty times in the Quran; in twenty-seven of them it is associated with Salat, prayer, in the same sequence, namely, those who are steadfast in their prayer … and those who actively pay Zakat.

Blessings of 'Lailat-ul-Qadr'

On August 25, 2011 LE MAURICIEN Newspaper, which is published from the Mauritius, carried an article by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib on the extraordinary spiritual phenomenon known as Lailat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree). In the article, Hadhrat Sahib reflects upon the Divine Grace and Mercy in the last 10 days of the Holy Month of Ramadan available to the believers who engage in fasting and other acts of worship only for the sake of Allah, the Most High. We are reproducing below the article here for the benefit of all].

The Holy Quran describes one of the greatest and most beautiful night as thus:“Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” (Al-Qadr 97: 2-6)

After having completed twenty days of fasting during this blessed month, the believer feels the deep connection between him and his Lord. He is altogether satisfied that he succeeded in fulfilling the commands of his Lord, of sacrificing many aspects of his life, all for the pleasure of his Creator. This sense of achievement is a boost for him to strive further to make the best of these remaining days when Ramadan will go away, leaving a big vacuum in his life. Like I have so many times said, Ramadan is a month of training; such a month in which he prefers to indulge in seeking the pleasure of God through numerous forms of acts of worship, to seek God’s forgiveness and His protection against Hell-fire.

The Mother of the Believers, Lady Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), the noble wife of the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) narrated: “Allah’s Apostle used to practice  Itikaf (spiritual retreat) in the last ten nights of Ramadan and used to say, “Look for the Night of Qadr (Decree) in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan.” The last ten days of Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam is also time for repentance of an exquisite aura.

Fifth Khalifa and the Age of Ignorance

“He who dies without [recognizing] the Imam dies the death of ignorance”.

This is one of the authentic Hadiths recorded and reported by several distinguished Hadith scholars, including Musnad Ahmad, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn-e-Khuzaimah and Ibn-e- Habban.

According to the Promised Massih (as):  “This Hadith is enough to make the heart of a righteous man seek after the Imam of the age, for to die in ignorance is such a great misfortune that no evil or ill- luck lies outside its scope. Therefore, in keeping with this testament of the Holy Prophet (sa), it becomes incumbent upon every seeker after truth to persist in his quest for the true Imam”. [Darurat-ul-Imam, p. 2, Qadian: Nazarat Nashro Isha’at, (2007)]

In the same book, the Promised Massih (as) clearly identified the distinguishing qualities of the Imam and pointed out that Prophets, Messengers, Muhaddithin and Mujaddidin- all of whom invariably enjoyed divine converse-  are the Imam of the Age in their times (p.39).   By way of more clarity, the Promised Massih (as) further added: “But those who are not appointed by God to educate and guide God’s creatures, nor have they been vouchsafed such excellences, regardless of their being saints or seers, cannot be called the Imam of the Age” (p. 39). This is the express guidance left behind by the Promised Massih (as) through his eloquent commentary on the importance of accepting the Imam of the Age.

Yet, today Ahmadis have fallen into ignorant ways.  None other than the Fifth Khalifa Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib presides over this Age of Ignorance in the annals of Ahmadiyya Islam. Misguided ideas have come to be their theological doctrines and they virtually follow their fancies, instead of the teachings of the Promised Massih (as)

Look at this example. Today, Ahmadis offer an interesting excuse to reject an authentic Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and the guidance of the Promised Massih (as) regarding the raising of an Imam in every Age. In his blinkered spin, the Khalifa himself is suggesting that he is the Mujaddid of the Age without ever claiming that he is a recipient of divine revelations or that Allah has appointed him to this position. He also feels that every righteous person helping the work of the “Jamaat” is a “Mujaddid” in his own right!

The Argument of Last Mujaddid

The coming of Prophets and other Elects of Allah for the guidance of mankind is a perennial theme in spiritual history. The Holy Qur’an says that such servants of Allah have always been raised among all communities and every people have had their own divinely-guided souls. “And for every people there is a Messenger” (10:48, 13:08; 16:37). A well known tradition from the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) indicates that hundreds of thousands of Messengers have passed away before his own advent.   

As the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) was himself a chain in the grand Divine scheme of guided souls leading common people in the path of Allah, he gave the glad tiding of the continuity of divine revelations and the coming of other Elects of Allah in future. That is why the Promised Messiah (as) wrote in his book Izala Auham that the door of coming of Messiahs will remain open and never close. He further said:

“I am the claimer of Promised Messiah, and this is not the only claim of mine, that only I am the one and the last Promised Messiah. Hence, according to me it is possible that after my age (time period) ten thousands (10,000) Promised Messiahs shall come. But for this age (time period) I am the Promised Messiah.”

He then, writes:

 “It is also evident that this view is not mine alone. The ‘mirror images’ of the Massih could be several persons’- This is also not just a personal opinion of mine. This is actually the essence of the great prophetic traditions in this regard. There could be around 30 Dajjals till the Day of Judgement. Thus 30 Dajjals might appear in the world. Based on the prophecy “Li Kulli Dajjalin Isa”, atleast 30 Massihs should come. Due to these descriptions, the other Massihs will make an appearance at some other time. All this is perfectly possible”.   (Izala Auham, pg.197)

Today, Ahmadis have completely moved away from the real spiritual path of Islam which anticipates the coming of Elects of Allah in every age. Forget about 10,000 Massihs or even the comparatively smaller figure 30 Massihs, mentioned by the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as), his own so-said Jamaat has discarded his teachings by the way side. They do not even expect a single Massih to come in their midst now as they feel they have an elected Khilafat system which is designed to last till the Day of Judgement in the fashion of the Christian Khilafat. Already, they have declared the Promised Massih (as) as the Last Mujaddid before the Day of Judgement. Such thinking is in line with the mentality of other peoples of the past who also thought that after their Prophet, no one will come in future!