Blessings of Khilafat — Page 121
121 prayers are a source of comfort and tranquillity for them. [And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing]. In short, Zakat is a tax imposed by God on man in return for which He has promised to bless him with physical and spiritual purity. Ever since the Muslims have stopped paying Zakat, they are observing a constant decline in their wealth. Alas, there was a time when they ruled the whole world, but today they are afflicted with adversity and abasement. God promises worldly success and spiritual purity to those who pay Zakat, in the same way as a government promises protection in return for the tax it collects from its subjects. But alas, people give credence to the promises made by a worldly government and happily pay all taxes, whereas they deny the truth of the promise made by God, thereby declining to pay Zakat. The fact is that, as a consequence of paying Zakat, one becomes secure from a number of problems and miseries, for divine promises can never be false. A Subtle Point About Zakat Among the many great advantages of Zakat, there is one which may prove beneficial particularly to those with a Sufi nature. When a man is earning his living he makes every possible effort to safeguard his wealth against illicit earnings, but there is always a possibility of some illicit earnings getting mixed up with that of his lawfully earned money or wealth. Take for example a clothes merchant. He sells a piece of cloth and receives payment unaware of the fact that the piece of cloth has developed holes in it and has become useless. Though he has been guilty of this mistake unknowingly, the money he has received is not legitimate for him and he has no right to own