The Philosophy of Zakāt — Page 19
THE PH ILOSOPHY OF ZAKAT 19 him to observe Prayers regularly, to pay the Zak ā t and to wish well for each and every Muslim (Bukhari). A deputation from Abdul Qais came to the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, in the year 5 AH. They sought to know some details about Islam and he first told them about observing Prayers and paying Zakat, after which he told them further details. In the year 9 AH the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, sent Hazrat Ma’az on the mission to go and preach Islam in Yemen. He instructed him the order of preference in which to preach. He said, ‘You must in the first instance call them to the Unity of God and when they become familiar with this, then tell them that to observe Prayer five times daily is an important basic principle and when they accept this then tell them that it is incumbent upon every Muslim to pay the Zak ā t on their poss essions which is taken from them to be distributed to their own poor people. ’ The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, had spent all he had in the way of Allah. He died without any material wealth. During the month of Ramadhan he used to spend a lot so that the left hand knew not what the right hand possessed. He pr omoted this spending secretly and with the knowledge of others. The P ractice and U nderstanding of Zak ā t by T he C ompanions All his very close companions were fully conversant with the details of Zak ā t and whenever occasion arose they fully