EN
ID
ACTNews, SOUTH
JAKARTA – Zakat as an act of worship that becomes one of the Pillars of
Islam has a long history. The Quranic verses that contain the word zakat were revealed since the Prophet
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was in Makkah. Among these verses were Quran Chapter
30 verse 39, Chapter 27 verse 3, Chapter 31 verse 4, Chapter 23 verse 4,
Chapter 7 verse 156, and Chapter 41 verse 7.
However, zakat as
an act of worship was prescribed after the Prophet migrated to Madinah.
However, during the Meccan period, the Prophet and his Companions understood
that, in their wealth, there is the right of the needy.
"And from
their properties was [given] the right of the [needy] petitioner and the
deprived," Allah reveals in the 59th Chapter of the Qur’an.
Indonesian
Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Practical Zakat Guidebook mentions that the
verses of zakat revealed during the Meccan period are different than those
revealed in the Medinan period. Unlike the Meccan ones, the Medinan verses of zakat
clearly stipulate the nisab and the amount of zakat that must be given, the
regulations regarding zakat administrators and distributors, and the state’s
responsibility to collect it.
"The verses
that were revealed in Medina firmly express the obligation of zakat and clearly
instruct its implementation. One of the last chapters that were revealed was Surah
At-Taubah which is also one of the surahs in the Qur'an that pays great
attention to zakat,” says the book.
Zakat Al-Fitr was
prescribed in 2 AH (623 CE) along with the Divine command over prayer. Later,
the verses about Zakat Al-Mal were also revealed.
In the year 9
Hijri, verse 60 of Surah At-Taubah was revealed, explaining who is
entitled to receive zakat. However, at that time, the Prophet did not necessarily
distribute zakat to all of these eight groups, but only some people within
these eight groups who were needy.
Ibn Hajar and Imam
al-Rafi explained that at the time of Umar bin Abdul Aziz (one of the Umayyad
caliphs) the distribution of zakat also reached those who were senile and
paralyzed, the poor who were sickly and unable to work, and the poor who asked
for help to meet their basic needs.
Imam al-Zuhri, one
of the Muslim scholars at that time, ordered Umar bin Abdul Aziz to distribute
zakat to the poor who had debts, as well as to travelers who had no family
and had run out of provisions until he got a decent place to stay. []
