Can we determine a specific minimum and maximum amount for the zakah of trade goods to be imposed on merchants?
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The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you. When we said that it is obligatory for him to pay out based on the generality of the evidence, we did not restrict it because there is nothing in the Shari'ah that restricts this rate, and we referred it to the conscience and piety of the owner of the wealth.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Hashr 59:9] Now, is it not the case that if a man came to us and said that there is confusion in this fatwa because people do not know how much they should pay out, and people's circumstances differ—perhaps a merchant is ignorant and does not know—can we determine a specific minimum and maximum amount?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. No, we cannot, but this argument is a refuted one, because there may be merchants who have never heard that zakah is obligatory on trade goods. Would this be an excuse for them? No. And for that reason, Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nahl 16:43] And recently, we said that there are individual obligations and collective obligations, and that every person of legal age must know individual matters such as prayer and its conditions. But if a person is poor, it is not obligatory for him to know the rulings of zakah, nor is it obligatory for him to know the rituals of Hajj. However, once he becomes wealthy, it is obligatory for him to know the details of the rulings of zakah. So, if this wealthy person with trade goods does not know the rate, and this is what Allah intended, as He did not inform us [Maryam 19:64] as He said the Exalted in the Qur'an, then it is obligatory for him to know that he must pay out what pleases his soul. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the well-known authentic hadith: And here, without a doubt, this is the profound divine wisdom. When our Lord the Exalted left this unrestricted and did not limit it, He intended to test these people. As we know, many rulings are unrestricted and left to the person of legal age. The unrestricted nature may be from one aspect, while the restriction may be from another aspect that differs. For example, the fixed zakahs with specific thresholds and quantities are found in two categories in the Shari'ah. One category is where the collector sent by the Muslim ruler comes to the wealthy person and takes that zakah from him against his will, and this is the zakah of livestock and the zakah of fruits. The other category is where that is left to the wealthy person himself, such as the zakah of money. Now, someone might say that perhaps this wealthy person, whom the wise Lawgiver did not obligate the Muslim ruler to send to him to count his wealth and take two and a half percent from him, might not fulfill this obligation. Is this a question that comes from a Muslim? The answer is no. Why? Because Allah the Exalted, in everything He legislated, has a profound wisdom that those who know it know it, and those who do not know it do not know it. If we ask, what is the wisdom in Allah the Exalted making some of these obligations on the wealth of the wealthy be collected by the collector who takes it from him? And here, you know, in rulings concerning collectors, he does not take the best of it, nor the worst of it; we referred to the middle ground that I mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So what is the wisdom in Allah legislating, through the tongue of His Prophet, that this type of zakah is collected by employees who have a known threshold in zakahs, while He made the zakah of money the responsibility of the wealthy person himself, who may pay it out or may not, as is the case today, where many of the wealthy do not pay the zakah of their wealth, but rather spend multiples of it in what is not appropriate, or in what is not permissible, or in what is forbidden.
The wisdom is very clear, because the Lord of the Worlds did not intend for every ruling to be performed by the Muslim against his will, but He wants him to purify himself. And so it was of profound wisdom that He made the zakah of money be paid out voluntarily from his own soul, while the other zakah is taken from him against his will. So, this serves as an answer to what you asked, meaning he should fear Allah the Exalted, and we have no way to impose on him from our own side, whether we are the rulers or the scholars. It is not for us to impose an obligation on him in what the Lord of the Worlds has not imposed. This is of that type. So you pay the zakah of money with a willing heart, and you do not know exactly what is obligatory on you. Similarly, the issue of trade goods: this Muslim is judged, and it is said to him that one who has ten thousand is not equal to one who has one hundred thousand, or one who has millions. So fear Allah the Exalted. And as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and I believe this is the place for such an issue:
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul
ومن يوق شح نفسهThe Shaykh : May Allah bless you. No, we cannot, but this argument is a refuted one, because there may be merchants who have never heard that zakah is obligatory on trade goods. Would this be an excuse for them? No. And for that reason, Allah the Exalted said:
So ask the people of the message if you do not know.
فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمونAnd never is your Lord forgetful -
وما كان ربك نسياNo Muslim's wealth is lawful except by the pleasure of his soul
لا يحل ما امرء مسلم إلا بطيب نفسهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So what is the wisdom in Allah legislating, through the tongue of His Prophet, that this type of zakah is collected by employees who have a known threshold in zakahs, while He made the zakah of money the responsibility of the wealthy person himself, who may pay it out or may not, as is the case today, where many of the wealthy do not pay the zakah of their wealth, but rather spend multiples of it in what is not appropriate, or in what is not permissible, or in what is forbidden.
The wisdom is very clear, because the Lord of the Worlds did not intend for every ruling to be performed by the Muslim against his will, but He wants him to purify himself. And so it was of profound wisdom that He made the zakah of money be paid out voluntarily from his own soul, while the other zakah is taken from him against his will. So, this serves as an answer to what you asked, meaning he should fear Allah the Exalted, and we have no way to impose on him from our own side, whether we are the rulers or the scholars. It is not for us to impose an obligation on him in what the Lord of the Worlds has not imposed. This is of that type. So you pay the zakah of money with a willing heart, and you do not know exactly what is obligatory on you. Similarly, the issue of trade goods: this Muslim is judged, and it is said to him that one who has ten thousand is not equal to one who has one hundred thousand, or one who has millions. So fear Allah the Exalted. And as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and I believe this is the place for such an issue: