Provisions For The Hereafter – Summary Notes: Lesson 25
Lesson 25: 30/4/16

Review on charity & zakah:

– The Prophet (s) said: “No soul shall taste death until that soul consumes the last morsel Allah has decreed for that soul.”
– Charity is a sign and strength of ones tawakkul
– Be a person that can become full whilst eating less
– We are so addicted to our wants over our needs – this is a sign that our life is void of barakah
– “Verily your wealth and children are a fitnah (test) for you.” (8:28)
– A manufacturer of a car will know how it works because it knows the parts. Allah knows us best so He knows what to legislate for us.
– Allah commands His prophet to take a portion of his wealth for the poor.

Wisdoms of Zakah:

– To perfect and complete ones Islam
– Zakah purifies ones character and is a protection from stinginess and miserliness
– Protection from becoming a victim of time – attachment to life, children and wealth
– Zakah is thw rainfall that falls on your barran heart. It grants your heart life and softens it
– When Allah speaks about the hardened heart He follows it with the ayah, “Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand.” (57:17)
– Brings about innate peace and joy. The people who give experience a joy they can’t describe
– There is no one thing that makes up happiness as a whole
– The best way to express happiness: practice good deeds
– “Whoever does righteous deeds whether male or female while he (is) a believer, then surely We will give him life, a life good, and We will pay them their reward to (the) best of what they used (to) do.” (16:97)
– Ibn Qayyim: [paraphrased] “Give from your heart not your hand…”
– Our wealth should be in our hand not our hearts
– Zuhd is not living as though Allah has not given you, its about living with the worlds in your hands and Allah in your heart.

– Use whatever you have in this dunya for the betterment and of your hereafter.
– There is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator

– Zakah makes the Muslim society one society
– Zakah helps relieve the stress of the poor.
– Eatin and drinking from gold and silver is impermissible, one of the reasons is because the shariah is sensitive to our needs. Imagine how the poor would feel watching us eat from gold and silver utensils?

Short inspirational story:

– Once a student was walking with a Sheikh in an african country, the student saw some chocolate, because they were walking for a long time the student felt hungry. He went to a shop and bought two fancy chocolates. He caught up with the sheikh and gave him his chocolate. The student opened his chocolate and began eating but the sheikh didn’t. So he asked him twice to open. The Sheikh kept sating “Okay inshaAllah.” After a while, the student spoke again asked again, this time becoming offended and began to ask questions. The Sheikh took him to the side and whispered in his ear: “We are walking here and there are a lot of poor people around us and I do not want to open it in front of them as I don’t want their hearts to become attached to it whilst they can’t have it.”

– Zakah is a salvation from the heat of the DOJ. “The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his charity.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 604
– The bigger the charity = the bigger the shade
– Sheikh Ibn Baz (r) used to often say: “Do not belittle yourself” meaning, don’t belittle any act of goodness. The Prophet (s) said: “Every act of goodness is charity.” – Sahih Muslim, Hadith 496
– Zakah extinguishes the anger of Allah and some narration say it wrestles a bad calamity. The Prophet (s) said: “Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 589

Zakah also has physical benefits:
– Helps create a society that is void of crime such as stealing, bribery and corruption
– Helps build a robust economy.
– Don’t understimate the power of zakah in changing the world
–  200 billion to a trillion dollars of zakah can be payed across the earth

Zakah is compulsary on:
– Gold/silver (or anything that represents it such as money)
– Agriculture: fruits/minerals
– Business goods
– Lifestock – camels, cows, goats and sheep

Zakah has conditions:
– The wealth that is zakatable, you have to have a minimum amount of the wealth for a period of one year – then you have to pay zakah.
– How much you pay differs based on the type of wealth you have

Zakah on gold and silver:
– Nisab: threshold of zakah
– The scholars say that the threshold is 20 nisab (85 grams of gold)
– Silver: Nisa 595 grams
– You should look at the equivalent to 85 grams and 595 grams
– You look at either the threshold of silver and gold, if you have the minimum of the two figures then zakah is compulsary
– You pay 2.5% of your total amount

Zakah on business goods:
– Business man will turn any cash he has into goods to prevent inflation
– He has to work out the cost of all the goods, if the cost of goods is more than the threshold of gold and silver, then he has to pay zakah
– If the poor will not benefit from the goods then the value of the goods must be worked out and payed when the person has it or over a period of time
– Shares are also included in this

Zakah on fruit/vegetables:
– On fruits that can be preserved and stored
– The Nisab for agriculture is 612kg
– It does not require that a year should have passed but should be payed once fruits have been harvested
– 1/10 is to be payed if the land has been naturally watered and 1/20 if it has been irrigated

Zaad will be resumed after Hajj inshaAllah.

Resume date: 24th September 2016