Khilafat-e-Rashidah — Page 133
KHILAFAT-E-R A SHIDAH 133 charge of Khilafat. The majority of Arabs refused to pay Zakat. They were of the view that it was a command only during the period of the Holy Prophet sa , but not for the period of later Khulaf a ’. Hadrat Abu Bakr ra refused to accept their demand and was determined to fight with those who even refused to pay Zakat equivalent to the string that was used to tie the knee of a camel, and vowed that he would not stop fighting till he received Zakat from them the same way they used to pay in the period of the Holy Prophet sa. He succeeded in his campaign, and the system of Zakat again started functioning, which continued in the periods of the later Khulaf a ’. When Khilafat was terminated the Muslim world was left with no system for the recovery of Zakat. This is what Allah, the Almighty has mentioned in this verse. If there is no Khilafat, the Muslims cannot comply with the command of paying Zakat. The reason for it is that Zakat is a basic pillar of Islamic teachings. It is taken from the rich and distributed among the poor. It can only be possible where a regular organization exists. If an individual distributes Zakat to a few poor people then how can such good results come of it which are possible only in the presence of a system that ensures the utilization of the total collection of Zakat for the welfare and progress of all indigent people? So the system of Zakat requires the supervision of Khilafat. Similarly the performance of Prayer is not possible without Khilafat. The reason is that the best part of