Shaikh-ul-Islam Maulana Abdol-Hamid shed light on the importance of “Zakah” in Islam and its material and spiritual influences in the Friday sermon of April 19, 2019 where he called on rich people to pay their annual Zakah carefully and sensitively.
Khateeb of Sunnis in Zahedan began his speech by recitation of the Noble Qur’anic verse: “وَ لا یَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذینَ یَبْخَلُونَ بِما آتاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَیْراً لَهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ سَیُطَوَّقُونَ ما بَخِلُوا بِهِ یَوْمَ الْقِیامَةِ; Those who are niggardly about what Allah has granted them out of His bounty think that niggardliness is good for them; it is bad for them. What they were niggardly about will turn into a halter round their necks on the Day of Resurrection. [3:180]” and said: “We are in the holy month of Sha’ban and the blessed month of Ramadan is coming, too. These months are opportunities which we should value and benefit from them.”
“Sha’ban is the forerunner of Ramadan in which the sense of the holy month of Ramadan can be smelled. We should get ready for this blessed month to worship more and more the Almighty. Prepare and pay your Zakah with full care and prudence,” he added more.
Maulana Abdol-Hamid further said: “Namaz/offering prayers, Zakah, fasting in Ramadan and Hajj are the most important pillars of Islam. Zakat is very important; it makes human beings clean from sins including the bad habit of stinginess. Not only people, but the Almighty Allah also hates stingy person. Allah bestows people wealth to donate and expend, but they show stinginess.”
He mentioned Zakat as one of the outstanding points of Islam and said: “Allah can make rich people poorer than poor people, but the All-Wise Allah tests rich by giving them wealth. If they donate to poor and needy people, Allah will grant them rewards and blessings. Other cultures miss such outstanding points.”
“Some people are afraid that paying Zakah decreases their wealth and money, while donating on the path of Allah not only does not decrease wealth, but it increases money and assets. As Allah Almighty says: “Allah destroys interest and gives increase for charities. [2:276],” president of Darululoom Zahedan pointed out.
He urged on avoiding from suspicious things and wealth and said: “It is so bad that people have legal and Halal income, but they use Haram and illegal things. Some others artifice and think of a trick to not pay Zakah; rather we should account the amount of Zakah carefully.
“Do not pay any attention to satanic temptations; Satan shows big sins minor things in the eyes of human beings to push them toward the Fire. Zakat is the due right of poor and needy people. If someone avoids from giving Zakah, Allah will be angry with him,” Shaikh added more.
He underlined: “Such people should know that evading from Zakah is not in favor of them; such wealth will be dragons for those who do not pay Zakah. On the day of Resurrection they will wish that would had been poor in this world. Golds will be melt and put on foreheads and parts of body.”
“All classes of society, including traders of jewelry, cloths, livestock holders and farmers should be sensitive in paying Zakah. People do not pay their Zakah well and carefully; otherwise we would not have seen any poor in society or at least poverty would be decreased,” Khateeb of Sunnis said.
At the end of his speech, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid called on the pertinent authorities to issue permission for the wells of farming as famine has been decreased due to continuous rains. He urged that the authorities should not be stingy in this regard and allow people for farming.