When does the worker for collecting zakah deserve his wage
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 21420 )
Q: I inform you that I am one of the shaykhs of Shaml in the region of 'Asir , and there
are many emirs and deputies whose jurisdiction is directly under us. It is not hidden from your Eminence that zakah is one of the five pillars of Islam, and when the state sets the time for its collection, the tribal shaykh sends a representative on his behalf, and thus this representative takes the tenth from the zakah of the tribes under my jurisdiction. The state has set this at 20% for the shaykh and 10% for the deputy. Through our observation, this practice is not applied except in the southern region. Out of caution and fear of Allah regarding the permissibility of the percentage we receive without any compensation, since we do not make any effort, and the state, may Allah protect it, undoubtedly spends rights and allowances for the shaykhs, I therefore doubt the permissibility of this percentage. This led me to turn to your Eminence, hoping for your guidance on this matter which has long occupied me, because all the shaykhs and deputies in this region take this percentage without compensation. Upon inquiring with His Excellency the Minister of Finance about what the Ministry has on this matter, His Excellency informed me in the following text: Referring to your Eminence's letter number (46 \ S \ 2) dated 1 / 12 / 1420 AH, which states that you receive messages from some tribal shaykhs in the region of 'Asir inquiring about the ruling on what one of them does when he sends a representative on his behalf to collect the zakah of the tribes under his jurisdiction, where the representative takes the tenth of the zakah, with 20% for the shaykh and
10% for his deputy, based on what the state has determined for them when collecting zakah, as they stated. Your Eminence wishes to review and provide information on the validity of what is mentioned in this matter. I inform your Eminence that the state, may Allah support it, since the era of King 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), has been preparing and dispatching zakah collection workers for livestock in all parts of the Kingdom, seeking thereby to remove the hardship and burden on Muslims in paying the zakah of their livestock. Since the southern region and part of the western region have rough roads, and it was difficult for the workers at that time to reach every location, it became customary since that era to pay the tenth of the zakah to the shaykhs and deputies who collect the zakah of their groups and deliver it to the state's representative. It was confirmed that the payment of these tenths would continue by Royal Order number (7 \ B \ 5650) dated 14 / 4 / 1408 AH. However, after the development of communication means and the availability of roads and services, the workers have become able to stand at all resources and designated locations to collect from those obligated to pay zakah, and obtain the zakah directly from them. These obligated persons provide the name of the shaykh or deputy to whom they belong, so that it is recorded in the zakah document. After the workers finish with each resource, the shaykhs or deputies or their representatives come to receive the tenth of the zakah, even though they have not performed
any work in collecting zakah from the obligated persons as was the case previously. The shaykh receives the full tenth if he has no deputy; if he has a deputy, he receives a quarter of the tenth, the deputy receives half of the tenth, and the shaykh of the Shaml receives a quarter of the tenth. The instructions communicated to the workers to apply this when paying the tenths were included, as the state did not specify a method for paying the tenths, but only ordered the payment of the tenth to the tribal shaykhs and their deputies. This is what the Ministry has on this matter. If the Ministry considers that these shaykhs and their deputies are not considered workers in collecting zakah, then issuing a fatwa on the ruling of their taking this tenth is a matter decided by the competent ifta' authorities. We hope your Eminence will review and inform us of what you see regarding this matter .
A : As long as the workers have become able to stand at all resources and take the zakah directly from those who are obligated to pay it, and no work remains for the tribal shaykhs, their deputies, or their representatives in collecting the zakah, then they do not deserve anything from it; because they previously took it in return for their work, and their work has ended. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I inform you that I am one of the shaykhs of Shaml in the region of 'Asir , and there
are many emirs and deputies whose jurisdiction is directly under us. It is not hidden from your Eminence that zakah is one of the five pillars of Islam, and when the state sets the time for its collection, the tribal shaykh sends a representative on his behalf, and thus this representative takes the tenth from the zakah of the tribes under my jurisdiction. The state has set this at 20% for the shaykh and 10% for the deputy. Through our observation, this practice is not applied except in the southern region. Out of caution and fear of Allah regarding the permissibility of the percentage we receive without any compensation, since we do not make any effort, and the state, may Allah protect it, undoubtedly spends rights and allowances for the shaykhs, I therefore doubt the permissibility of this percentage. This led me to turn to your Eminence, hoping for your guidance on this matter which has long occupied me, because all the shaykhs and deputies in this region take this percentage without compensation. Upon inquiring with His Excellency the Minister of Finance about what the Ministry has on this matter, His Excellency informed me in the following text: Referring to your Eminence's letter number (46 \ S \ 2) dated 1 / 12 / 1420 AH, which states that you receive messages from some tribal shaykhs in the region of 'Asir inquiring about the ruling on what one of them does when he sends a representative on his behalf to collect the zakah of the tribes under his jurisdiction, where the representative takes the tenth of the zakah, with 20% for the shaykh and
10% for his deputy, based on what the state has determined for them when collecting zakah, as they stated. Your Eminence wishes to review and provide information on the validity of what is mentioned in this matter. I inform your Eminence that the state, may Allah support it, since the era of King 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), has been preparing and dispatching zakah collection workers for livestock in all parts of the Kingdom, seeking thereby to remove the hardship and burden on Muslims in paying the zakah of their livestock. Since the southern region and part of the western region have rough roads, and it was difficult for the workers at that time to reach every location, it became customary since that era to pay the tenth of the zakah to the shaykhs and deputies who collect the zakah of their groups and deliver it to the state's representative. It was confirmed that the payment of these tenths would continue by Royal Order number (7 \ B \ 5650) dated 14 / 4 / 1408 AH. However, after the development of communication means and the availability of roads and services, the workers have become able to stand at all resources and designated locations to collect from those obligated to pay zakah, and obtain the zakah directly from them. These obligated persons provide the name of the shaykh or deputy to whom they belong, so that it is recorded in the zakah document. After the workers finish with each resource, the shaykhs or deputies or their representatives come to receive the tenth of the zakah, even though they have not performed
any work in collecting zakah from the obligated persons as was the case previously. The shaykh receives the full tenth if he has no deputy; if he has a deputy, he receives a quarter of the tenth, the deputy receives half of the tenth, and the shaykh of the Shaml receives a quarter of the tenth. The instructions communicated to the workers to apply this when paying the tenths were included, as the state did not specify a method for paying the tenths, but only ordered the payment of the tenth to the tribal shaykhs and their deputies. This is what the Ministry has on this matter. If the Ministry considers that these shaykhs and their deputies are not considered workers in collecting zakah, then issuing a fatwa on the ruling of their taking this tenth is a matter decided by the competent ifta' authorities. We hope your Eminence will review and inform us of what you see regarding this matter .
A : As long as the workers have become able to stand at all resources and take the zakah directly from those who are obligated to pay it, and no work remains for the tribal shaykhs, their deputies, or their representatives in collecting the zakah, then they do not deserve anything from it; because they previously took it in return for their work, and their work has ended. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.