In the Absence of the Islamic State to whom the Zakat should be Paid?

প্রশ্ন · Question

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
O our Sheikh, there is a disagreement; to whom the Zakat should be
paid? Is it to the government while it is known that it does not spend it
in its allocated expenditures, or is it distributed to the poor (Al -
Fuqaraa) and the paupers (Al -Masakeen)? Please clarify with
evidences. Jazak Allah Khair.

উত্তর · Answer

You forgot to start your question with the Salaam greeting, but we love
for you the goodness, so we greeted ourselves on your behalf! As you
see, we return your greeting with:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
As for Zakat, it is performed in Islam as follows:
1- Zakat of gold and silver (money) may be paid to the Zakat employee
in the State, and the State delivers it to its beneficiaries. It is also
permissible to be delivered by the Zakat payer to its beneficiaries that
are the eight categories mentioned in the verse:
﴿إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِيْ ِ وَالْعَامِلِيْ َ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلهفَةِ قُلُوب ُهُمْ وَف ِي الررقَابِ
وَالْغَارِمِيْ َ وَف ِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴾
Verily the Sadaqat are (only) for the poor, needy, those employed
upon it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, slaves, debtors,
those in the way of Allah and the wayfarers.” [At-Tauba: 60]
2- Zakat of livestock, crops and fruits is paid to the Zakat employee in
the State, and the State delivers it to its beneficiaries. It is not

permissible for its Zakat to be delivered by its owner through means
other than the State.
3- But all this is when the Islamic State exists. When Allah relieves the
affliction of the Islamic Ummah and supports it by the establishment of
the righteous Khilafah (Caliphate), then Zakat of livestock, crops and
fruits is obligatory paid through the State and not through individuals,
whereas the payment of Zakat of gold, silver (money) and trade is
allowed to be delivered through the State or through its owners
directly.
4- Now that there is no Khilafah state, which applies the provisions of
the Shariah, then individuals should pay Zakat of their money; whether
it is livestock, crops, trade or gold and silver. The individuals deliver
them directly to the beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of
Sharia and they should make sure of that. And Allah is the Arbiter of
Success.
It came in the book Funds in the Islamic State under Paying Zakat to
the Khalifah, p. 170 (p.155 English edition): “Zakat is paid, whether it is
livestock, crops and fruits, currency or trading merchandise to the
Khalifah or his representative such as governors (Wulat) or ‘Amileen (a
ruling position that is under the wali) or whoever he appoints as
collectors (Su’at) and employees (‘Amileen) over the Sadaqat. Allah ﷻ
said:
﴿مْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهررُهُمْ وَتُزَكِيهِم بِهَا وَصَلر عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلاَتَكَ سَكَنٌ لههُمْ
َ
خُذْ مِنْ أ ﴾
Take Sadaqah from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify
them with it, and pray for them. Verily your prayer is peace for them”
[At-Tauba: 103]
Allah ﷻ obliged His Messenger ﷺ in this Ayah to take Sadaqah from
the owners of wealth, and the Messenger ﷺ used to appoint
governors, workers and collectors to take the Sadaqah from the
owners of wealth just as he would appoint estimators ( Khurraas) to

estimate the harvest of the palm and grape trees. People at the time of
the Prophet ﷺ used to pay the Zakat to him or those governors,
workers and collectors whom he appointed over the Sadaqah…
There has come some narration from the Sahabah and followers
(Tabi’in) allowing a person to distribute Zakat personally and to put it
in its place in case of hard money i.e. currency. It was narrated by Abu
Ubayd that Kaysan came to ‘Umar with 200 Dirhams as Sadaqah,
saying to him: «،O Amir al-Mu’mineen, this
is the Zakat of my wealth.” So, ‘Umar said to him: «
فاقسمها. You go and distribute it yourself.” It has also been narrated
by Abu Ubayd from ibn Abbas that he said: ي مواضعها،
«
ولم تَعُدَّ منها أحداً تَعُولُه شيئاً، فلا بأس There is no problem if you put it in
its place and don’t give anything of it to anyone whom you support.”
It was also narrated the statement of Ibrahim and Al -Hassan said:
خْفِها
َ
«“Put it in its place and conceal it.” This is in
relation to the hard money i.e. currency. As for livestock, crops and
fruits, these must be paid to the Khalifah or whomever he appoints, for
Abu Bakr fought those who denied the Zakat when they refused to pay
it to the governors and collectors saying: ي عناقاً كانوا يؤدونه إ
والله لو منعوب
رسول الله لقاتلتهم عليه By Allah, if they deny me one baby goat (‘Unaq)
that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah, I will fight them for
it.” Agreed upon through Abu Huraira.” END.
Your brother,
Abu Yasin
22nd Ramadan 1438 AH
17/06/2017 CE