Zakat

Assalaam o Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah wa Barakathu

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Al-Islam

Ramadan is coming up and its time to pay the Zakat Remember our brothers & Sisters the Mujahideen need the money...

Financing a Mujahid


Rasulullah (saaws) says:

"Whoever sponsors a fighter in the cause of Allah has fought"
(Majma' al Zawa'id)

This includes all the expenses of the mujahid including his travel expenses. This gives a chance for the rich and the poor to receive the rewards of Jihad, the poor by fighting and the rich by sponsoring them.



Taking care of the family of a Mujahid


Taking care of the family of the mujahid could be by protecting them, tending to their needs, providing them with financial assistance and protecting their honor.

The Messenger of Allah (saaws) says:



Anyone of you who takes care of the family and wealth of a mujahid will receive half the reward of the mujahid (Muslim)
The duty towards protecting the honor of the wives of the Mujahideen on the ones who stay behind is like their duty towards protecting the honor of their mothers. If a person who stays behind promises to take care of the wife of a mujahid but then betrays him, on the Day of Judgment the mujahid will be told that this man betrayed you so take whatever you want from his good deeds. So he will take whatever he likes. (Muslim)
Whoever does not fight, sponsor a fighter, or take care of the family of a fighter, will be afflicted with a disaster before he dies. (Abu Dawud)


If a person fears for the safety of his family, Shaytan can take advantage of that and prevent that person from going to Jihad. Even if such a person disobeys Shaytan and does go to Jihad, Shaytan can come to him and weaken his heart by whispering to him about the loved ones he left behind. Therefore, taking care of the families of the mujahideen would help their morale and that is why Islam devoted this attention to taking care of the family and wealth of the Mujahideen.



Sponsoring the family of a shaheed


The shaheed has fought for Islam and Muslims. He gave up his life for me and you. Therefore the families of the shaheeds need to be honored and served.

When Ja'far bin Abi Talib was killed in the battle of Mu'tah, the Messenger of Allah (saaws) told his wives:

"Prepare food for the family of Ja'far because they are preoccupied with their affair" and he visited Ja'far's house. (Related by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmithi). Imam Ahmad narrates that when the Messenger of Allah received the news of the martyrdom of Ja'far he visited his house and asked Ja'far's wife to bring the children. When they came to him he hugged them and kissed them while his eyes were shedding tears. Asma - the wife of Ja'far - said: "I asked the Messenger of Allah (saaws) if something has happened" He said: "Yes, Ja'far was killed today" Asma said: "When I heard that I started crying and screaming. Then the Messenger of Allah (saaws) left and told his wives: "Don't forget to prepare food for the family of Ja'far because their affair has overwhelmed them""

The children of the shaheed need to find in the men of the ummah the care of their father. The wife of the shaheed should be given the opportunity of remarrying if she has the desire to. This requires two cultural changes. First: The Muslim society needs to change its negative view regarding the divorced and widowed woman. Unfortunately, today men avoid women who are divorcees or widows. This stigma attached to our divorced and widowed sisters needs to be overcome. Second: The Muslim society today is very intolerant towards polygamy - which becomes a social necessity especially in times of war. So isn't it unfair to deprive millions of Muslim sisters from the blessings of marriage?

No woman in the time of the sahabah was left without a husband - a partner who would take care of her psychological, physical and financial needs.

When Ja'far died Abu Bakr married his wife and took care of her children.


Paying your zakah to the Mujahideen


The distribution of zakah is restricted to eight categories:

"Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler"
(9:60)

In the cause of Allah "fi sabeelillah" refers to the Mujahideen. The Maliki jurist Abu Bakr bin al Arabi states: "Malik says: "The causes of Allah are many, but there is no difference of opinion that "in the cause of Allah" here (in the verse) refers to fighting"

Imam al Nawawi states in al Minhaaj when talking about the spending of zakah:

"The fighter in the path of Allah is given what he needs to cover his expenses and the expenses of his family from the time he leaves until the time he comes back, even if he is absent for a long time"

Today not a lot of people pay their zakah to the Mujahideen. But if Muslims would rid themselves from the whispering of Shaytan they would come to realize that the best way to spend their zakah nowadays is by giving it to the Mujahideen because the Messenger of Allah (saaws) says:

"Charity cannot be given to a wealthy person except in five situations" The Messenger of Allah (saaws) listed one of them as: "The fighter in the cause of Allah" (Related by Abu Dawud). Now if zakah can be paid to the mujahideen even if they are rich what about when the mujahideen of today fulfill four out of the eight categories of zakah: They are poor, they are in need, they are wayfarers and they are the ones in the cause of Allah!

So pay your zakah to the Mujahideen and encourage others to do the same.

penned by aladarbaljihad