RAMADAN (4)
There are nine
categories of people who are exempted from fasting in the month of Ramadan. In
order to facilitate memorizing them an unidentified poet put them in the
following poems:
وَ عَوَارِضُ
الصَّوْمِ الَّتِيْ قَدْ يُغْتَفَر
* لِلْمَرْءِ فِيْهَا الْفِطْرُ تِسْعٌ
تُسْتَطَرْ
حَبْلٌ
وَ إِرْضَاعٌ وَ إِكْرَاهٌ سَفَرْ * مَرَضٌ جِهَادٌ جَوْعَةٌ عَطْشٌ كِبَرْ
The
obstacles of fasting in which people could be
forgiven
for not fasting are in record nine cases:
pregnancy,
breast-feeding, compulsion, traveling,
sickness, jihad, hunger, thirst, and old age.
Women in their monthly period
(menstruation) and delivery are not only exempted, but prohibited from praying
and fasting. It is Allah’s blessings for them in their weak condition to
relieve them from the burden of praying without making them up (qaḍā’),
and from fasting, although they have to make up the days they missed, any days before the coming of the next
Ramadan, except with excuse. Very old people and those who are terminally ill
do not make up the fasting, but feed the poor, if they are able to do so, at
least one poor person for every day his missed fasting. If they themselves are
so poor that they cannot afford to do so, then Allah will forgive them and
exempt them from it.
With
regard to traveling, the minimum distance is the one where prayers can be
shortened (qaṣr) which is about 89 km, and should start before dawn. If
someone is traveling while he is fasting, he can break his fast whenever he
feel he cannot keep it, but he has to make it up (qaḍā’). According to Shāfi‘ī school, people whose
profession is traveling, such as bus and train drivers, are not exempted from
fasting, except they face hardship in fasting.
With
regard to hard labours, such as blacksmiths, mining labourers, bakers, and the
like, according to the jumhūr ‘ulamā’ (Muslim scholars in the mass),
they have to make their effort to keep fasting, take pre-dawn meal, make
intention to fast, until they cannot bear the thirst and hunger any longer for
fear of their health. By then, they have to break their fast, for Allah says, وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ,إِنَّ اللّه
كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيْمًا (النساء : ٢٩) “…And do not kill yourselves (nor kill
one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you.” (Q.4:29)
There are four interpretations of this
verse:
1. killing oneself (committing suicide)
2. killing one another (Muslim brothers and
sisters in faith)
3. becoming too emotional, too happy, too
sad, too angry, too frustrated, etc. Uncontrollable emotion could kill,
directly or indirectly, through the deterioration of health. The heart beat
becomes faster; breathing becomes irregular, and so on
4. working
too hard beyond one’s ability; it is a kind of slow suicide. In general, a
person to whom fasting poses a threat to his life is not allowed to fast. Allah
says, وَلاَ
تُلْقُوْا بِأَيْدِيْكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ (البقرة : ١٩٥) “…and do not throw
yourselves into destruction…(Q. 2:195).
Zakāt al-Fiṭr
Besides fasting, and prayer, zakāt
is also incumbent upon Muslims. There are two kinds of zakat: (1) zakāt
al-māl is a kind of obligatory tax for one’s wealth (property), and (2) zakāt
al-fiṭr for every Muslim who has the means to do so, namely, those who have sufficient
provision for his family and those under his care for the whole day of the Ied.
The head of the household has to pay the zakat for himself, his family,
and those who are under his care. It has to be paid from sunset on the last day of
fasting until the beginning of `Eid Prayer on the following day. For the sake
of convenience both zakāt al-māl and zakāt al-fiṭr are paid at
the same time.
The term zakat in
the Qur’an is mentioned 23 times after the term ṣalāt to indicate its
importance[1].
A Muslim failing to fulfil this obligation without any valid reason becomes sinful,
and it cannot be made up. He, who forgets to do so, has to do it as soon as possible,
but it is no longer counted as zakat, but rather ṣadaqah (charity).
Many of the companions of the Prophet s.a.w. used to pay this zakāt
al-fiṭr one or two days earlier. Due to the increase number of Muslims the
jurists allow its payment earlier, from the beginning of Ramadan, so that its
distribution to its beneficiaries on the ‘Id day can be accomplished.
The
minimum amount of zakāt al-fiṭr is one ṣā‘ of food, wheat, flour,
barley, rice, or dried dates, raisins for each member of the family. One ṣā‘
according to Muslim jurists is between
2.5 and 3 kg, and according to the
orientalist Walter Hinz, is 4.2125 litres.[2]
Muslim jurists have
three different opinions on the possibility of paying of zakāt al-fiṭr in cash, as
follows:
a. It is not
possible, according to Mālikī, Shāfi‘ī and Ḥanbalī schools, based on the apparent meaning of the
ḥadīth in which the Prophet s.a.w. ordered to pay it with food.
b. It is possible
in case of necessity or for public interest. This is another view in the Ḥanbalī
school, which is chosen by Ibn Taymiyyah
c. It is possible,
according to Ḥanafī school, and a point
of view in the Shāfi‘ī school, as well as a report in the Ḥanbalī school. This
is also the view of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, ‘Aṭā’, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, Sufyān
al-Thawrī, Mu ‘ādh ibn Jabal, and Ja‘farī school.
Due to the
rapid increase of Muslims in the world (as Islam is the fastest growing
religion in the world) the first opinion is no longer practically applicable.
If every Muslim has to bring 4.3 litres
of barley, for example, as zakāt al-fiṭr to the Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
(which can accommodate up to 4 million
worshippers during the Hajj period), on
the same day of ‘Id al-Fiṭr, this would be unlikely to take place. Similarly,
it is unlikely that every Indonesian Muslim has to bring 4.3 litres of rice to
the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta,
Which is the
largest mosque in the region of Southeast Asia and has a capacity of over
120,000. There have to be a big store house for the rice, and it has to be
distributed to its recipients on the same day. Some of the recipients would
have to sell it for they might need something else, such as sugar, fish, etc.
Cash is the most practical in paying, collecting, and distributing zakāt
al-fiṭr.
Another
issue is whether the zakāt in general (zakāt al-māl as well as zakāt
al-fiṭr) can be distributed to other than the 8 categories of recipients
mentioned in the Qur’an as follows:
إِنَّمَا
الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ
قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ
وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ (
التوبة:60)
The alms [i.e., zakat] are only for the poor and
the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be
reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for
the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarers [i.e., travellers who is cut off
from everything]; a duty imposed by Allah. And Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise. (Q. 9:60)
The majority of Muslim jurist say that
the zakat cannot be distributed to other than these 8 categories of recipients,
such as building schools and hospitals, because this zakāt is special
for them. They are those who deserve to be helped materially. On the contrary, the
number of categories of recipients could be temporarily reduced with the
absence of such kind of recipients, such as captives, and those whose hearts
are to be reconciled. The caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, for example, did not
make a share for those hearts are to be reconciled (الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ),
as he did not find any person deserving this share, such as leaders and
influencing people in their respective communities. However, his grand-son, the Caliph ‘Umar ibn
‘Abd al-‘Azīz (d. 720), was said to have
given this share to the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
John V.
When Islam became strong
enough after the death of the Prophet s.a.w., Muslim rulers did not find
any reason to give a share for those hearts are to be reconciled. For
example, two people of a particular tribe who used to receive a share of those
whose hearts to be reconciled in the time of the Prophet came to the Caliph Abῡ
Bakr. They said that they had found a piece of useless, non-pastured, and
swampy ground, and asked him to give it to them as their share from the zakāt.
Abῡ Bakr wrote to them to give his approval. When they came to ‘Umar to be
a witness, he took the letter from them, spat and erased the letter, and said
to them: “The Messenger of Allah s.a.w. gave you this share, while Islam
at that time was in poor condition. But today Allah has enriched and glorified
Islam; so go back and work hard like the rests of the Muslims. The truth is
from your Lord, then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let
him disbelieve”. [He was referring to Q. 18:29).” Abῡ Bakr approved this
decision of ‘Umar.
‘Umar did no abolish the
share for those hearts are to be reconciled (الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ),
but rather he kept it dormant until those who deserve it was available. Like
other shares, such as those of the poor and the needy, or wayfarers, their
absence make their shares dormant until they become available.
According to Muslim jurists it is not possible to pay zakāt
to relatives under one’s care, namely, one’s wives, ascendants (parents and
grand-parents), and descendants (children and grand-children). It is intended
to relieve the needy, and these people have already a person who takes care of
them.
The
majority of Muslim jurists say that the zakāt of people in a particular
area cannot be taken to another area, as they understand from the Prophet’s
statement to Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal whom he sent to Yemen,
فَأَعْلِمْهُمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ افْتَرَضَ
عَلَيْهِمْ صَدَقَةً فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ تُؤْخَذُ
مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ وَتُرَدُّ
عَلَى فُقَرَائِهِم (رواه البخاري)
… then tell them that Allah has made incumbent upon
them charity
[i.e., zakat] on their wealth, taken
from the
rich among
them and to be returned to the poor
among them (Reported by Bukhari)
According to Shāfi‘ī school it shall
not be brought from one country to another, except what is left from the needs
of the poor in that country. It is the ruler who has the authority to bring it
to any place he wishes. According to Ḥanbalī school zakāt is not allowed
to be brought to a distant area where
prayer can be shortened (qaṣr), i.e. , about 89 km. Imām Mālik holds
the same view, and added that unless people in that distant area need more
assistant than those in its area of origin. Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz
returned the zakāt brought to Syria from Khurasan and said that the poor
in Khurasan deserved it more than the poor in Syria[3].
Ḥanafī
school is more liberal in this case: It is possible to bring it to another
country, but not recommended, unless people in that other country need
assistance more than people in the country of origin, or one has relatives in
that distant country. They interpret the Prophet’s statement, “taken from
the rich among them [i.e., the Muslims anywhere, not of a particular area], and
to be returned to the poor among them [i.e., the Muslims anywhere]. In
other word, zakāt is to be collected from the rich in the Muslim world
and to be returned to the poor in the Muslim world. This is the most acceptable
view and practised by Muslims in this modern world. When Muslims are in dire
need of help anywhere in this world, their Muslims brothers and sisters are
incumbent to rescue them through aids including zakat. (CIVIC, 25.07.13)
Sources:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير البغوي التوبة :59-60
وهبة الزهيلي. الفقه الإسلامي و أدلته
Khutab 4
http://www.funxone.com/architecture/5-largest-mosques-in-the- world-by-area-and-capacity.html#sthash.581RKueZ.dpuf
http://www.bayanelislam.net/Suspicion.aspx?id=01-05-0003&value=&type=
[1] See Q. 2:43, 83, 110, 177, and 277; 4:77 and 162;
5:12 and 15; 9:5, 11, 18, and 71; 21:73; 22:41 and 78; 24:56; 27:3; 31:4;
33:33; 58:13; 73:20, and 98:5.
[2] See Walter Hinz, Islamische Masse und Gewichte. Handbuch
der Orientalistik, ed. Bertold Spuler, Supplementary Vol.1,Book 1. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1955, p.
51.
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