The Philosophy of Zakāt — Page 20
THE PH ILOSOPHY OF ZAKAT 20 expounded it as they had learnt direct from the Holy Prophet himself. After the demise of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, when some tribes rebelled and refused to pay the Zakat, Hazrat Abu Bakr most firmly and undauntedly proclaimed, ‘By God, I shall fi ght all those who discriminated even a little between observing Prayer and paying the Zak ā t as it is incumbent upon wealth. By God, if they refuse to give me even the rope for tying the camel’s knee which they used to give to the Holy Prophet, peace and bl essings be upon him, I shall fight them because of this denial. ’ (Mishkat: the Book of Zak ā t) In another version it is mentioned that Hazrat Abu Bakr said, ‘Zak ā t is incumbent upon wealth and by God if anyone discriminates between Prayer and Zak ā t, he who used to give a small lamb to the Holy Prophet, he shall have to give the same to me also. ’ (Au thentic Bukhari: Book of Zak ā t: Vol. 1) Some orientalists have misconstrued from this tradition that the payment of Zak ā t only became compulsory after the death of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. The Holy Quran, which was revealed during the Prophet’s lifetime, and traditions quoted earlier p rove that their allegation is totally incorrect. On the contrary, Hazrat Abu Bakr enforces the practice of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, in this tradition.