An Introduction to Financial Sacrifice — Page 81
81 "Q a sim bin Muhammad said: Hadrat Ab u Bakr never received Zakat on a property unless it had been in someone’s possession for a whole year. And when he distributed stipends among the people, he would ask them if Zakat was due on some of their property. If someone answered ‘yes’, he would deduct the Zakat from his stipend, otherwise he would hand over the whole stipend and would deduct nothing from it. " 79 DEFINITION OF ZAKAT The Promised Messiah as says: "What is Zakat? It is taken from the rich and given to the poor. It teaches the highest level of human sympathy. Thus by coming together of the rich and the poor, the Muslims gain strength. It is a must for the rich to help the poor, and even if it were not so, it is a demand of human sympathy to do so. But nowadays, I see that people care the least even if their neighbour is starving to death, so engrossed are they with their own comfort and enjoyment. I can’t hold back what Allah has told me. Sympathy is a very precious gem that a man has. Allah Almighty says: " You cannot achieve virtue until you spend out of that which you love. " This is not the Way to please God, for instance a Hindu's cow becomes ill and he presents it as Mans. There are many who give to the poor rotten crumbs which are of no use to anyone, and they imagine that they have given charity. Allah does not accept such things, nor is such charity acceptable. He clearly says that you cannot achieve virtue until you spend out of that which you love. Virtue cannot be called virtue until you 79 Mauta Im a m M a lik, Kit a bul Zak a t, B a bul Zak a t.