Zakat
1) It is reported on the authority of Talha b. ‘Ubaidullah that a person with dishevelled hair, one among the people of Nejd, came to the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam). We heard the humming of his voice but could not fully discern what he had been saying; till he came nigh to the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam). It was then (disclosed to us) that he was asking questions pertaining to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: “Five prayers during the day and the night.” (Upon this) he said: ‘Am I obliged to say any other (prayer) besides these?” He (the Holy Prophet, Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: “No, but whatever you observe voluntarily, out of your own free will and the fasts of Ramadan. The inquirer said: ‘Am 1 obliged to do anything else besides this?’ He (the Holy Prophet, Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: ‘No, but whatever you do of your own free will. And the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) told him about the zakah (poor-due). The inquirer said: ‘Am I obliged to pay anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet, Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: “No but whatever you pay voluntarily out of your own will.” The man turned back and was saying: “I would neither make any addition to this, nor will I decrease anything out of it.” The Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) remarked: “He is successful if he is true to what he affirms.”
2) Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with them) has reported the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) as saying: “The (edifice of) Islam is founded on five (things): Testimony to the fact that there is no deity save Allah, that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of prayer, payment of zakah, (the performance of) Hajj and the fasts of Ramadan.
3) Qais said that Jarir b. ‘Abdullah reported: “I took the oath of allegiance (at the hands of the) Holy Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) of the establishment of Prayer, payment of zakah and well-wishing for every Muslim.”
4) Abu Ayyub (Allah be pleased with him), reported that a person said to the Apostle of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam): “Tell me an act that may cause me enter the Heaven.” He (Abu Ayyub) said: “What does he want?” Thereupon the Apostle of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) said: “It is a simple desire on his part. Worship Allah and do not hold anything as His associate, and establish prayer and pay zakah and join ties with your relatives.”
5) It is reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik that he said: “We were forbidden that we should ask anything (without the genuine need) from the Holy Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam). It therefore, pleased us that an intelligent person from the dwellers of the desert should come and ask him (the Holy Prophet) and we should listen to it. A man from the dwellers of the desert came (to the Holy Prophet) and said: ‘Muhammad, your messenger came to us and told us your assertion that verily Allah had sent you (as a prophet): He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: ‘He told the truth.’ He (the bedouin) said: ‘Who created the heaven?’ He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Allah.’ He (the Bedouin again) said: ‘Who created the earth?’ He (the Holy Prophet) replied: ‘Allah.’ He (the bedouin again) said: ‘Who raised these mountains and who created in them whatever is created there?’ He (the Holy Prophet) replied: ‘Allah.’ Upon this he (the bedouin) remarked: ‘By Him Who created the Heaven and created the earth and raised mountains thereupon, has Allah (in fact) sent you?’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘Yes.’ He (the bedouin) said: ‘Your messenger also told us that five prayers (had been made) obligatory for us during the day and the night.’ He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: ‘He told you the truth.’ He (the Bedouin) said: ‘By Him Who sent you, is it Allah Who ordered you about this (i.e. prayers)?’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘Yes.’ (The Bedouin) said: ‘Your messenger told us that zakah had been made obligatory in our riches.’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘He has told the truth.’ He (the bedouin) said. ‘By Him Who sent you (as a Prophet), is it Allah Who ordered you about it (zakah)?’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘Yes.’ He (the bedouin) said: ‘Your messenger told us that it has been made obligatory for us to fast every year during the month of Ramadan.’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘He has told the truth.’ He (the bedouin) said: ‘By Him Who sent you (as a Prophet), is it Allah Who ordered you about it (the fasts of Ramadan)?” He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘Yes.’ He (the bedouin) said: ‘Your messenger also told us that pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (Ka‘bah) had been made obligatory for him who is able to undertake the journey to it.’ He (the Holy Prophet) said: ‘He has told the truth.’ The narrator said that he (the bedouin) set off (at the conclusion of this answer, but at the time of his departure) remarked: ‘By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I would neither make any addition to them nor would I diminish anything out of them. Upon this the Holy Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) remarked: ‘If he were true (to what he said) he must enter Paradise.’
6) It is narrated on the authority of Abu Ayyub Ansari that once during the journey of the Holy Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) a bedouin appeared before him and caught hold of the nose-string of his she-camel and then said: Messenger of Allah (or Muhammad), inform me about that which takes me near to Paradise and draws me away from the Fire (of Hell). He (the narrator) said: “The Prophet (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) stopped for a while and cast a glance upon his companions and then said: ‘He was afforded a good opportunity (or he had been guided well).’ He (the Holy Prophet) addressing the bedouin said: “(Repeat) whatever you uttered.” He (the bedouin) repeated that. Upon this the Apostle (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam) remarked: ‘(The deed which can draw you near to Paradise and take you away from Hell, is that) you worship Allah and associate none with Him, and you establish prayer and pay zakah, and do good to your kin.’ (After having uttered these words, the Holy Prophet asked the bedouin to) release the (nose-string of his) she-camel.”
Source: Economic Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): A Select Anthology of Hadith Literature on Economics, Muhammad Akram Khan. Republished with permission.
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