Zakat is 20% of the net profit

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By the Emirati writer and thinker
Ali Muhammad Al-Shurafa Al-Hammadi
During the current blessed days, in the month of Ramadan and the approach of Eid al-Fitr, there is a lot of talk about zakat, how to pay it and how much is it, and when it should be paid and can it be paid in the form of money or grain?
In fact, Zakat is not a matter of criteria and financial ratios or in-kind amounts. Rather, Zakat is Allah Almighty’s imposition on everyone to achieve social security and self-sufficiency in societies to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. This results in a peaceful society where there is no hunger and there is no sick person who cannot find the medicine.
Zakat is the creation of a partnership between the poor and the rich to maintain the safety and security of the society. The legislation of the ancestors is not supported by the Holy Qur’an and what they have decided, 2.5% after one year does not conform to the purposes of the divine legislation.
If we return to the divine approach, we will find the legislation in the holy verse, ” And you Muslims must realize that whatever you capture from your enemy in the way of spoils of war, comes under Allah’s Authority. One fifth is assigned to Allah and His Messenger, to the kindred and to the orphans and the needy, that is if the heart of your purpose is indeed Allah’s purpose and you have exercised your minds in thought and contemplation conferred on Our Messenger and on your souls to vindicate the powers of good and beat down the powers of evil when the two forces met, and Allah is Qadirun over all things; He overrules personal aims“.
Where the “capture” means the gain and the “fifth” means 20% of the profit and is not limited to a period. Whenever a Muslim gets the net profit at any time, he should pay 20% of the net profit.
This is the purpose of zakat so that it can bridge the gap between rich and poor. The legislations of zakat and its percentage were characterized by self-greed, selfishness and love of money. They did not realize that Allah Almighty who gave the money and grace is able to remove it at a glance.
The objective is to achieve the divine purpose in favor of people living and safe and remove hatred and envy and achieve integration and participation among people in wealth.
Allah Almighty confirmed these rights by saying: “Who apportion a determinate share of their wealth for charitable contributions {24} To distribute among those who are needy, who make request for aid, and among those without the means for bare subsistence and among those who are indigent faint souls past corporal toil {25}” (Al Ma’arij 24-25).
Then the theft disappears and you will not find a needy person looking for food and you will not find a poor person asking for medicine or does not find food for his children.
Muslims continue to derive their legislation from the religious and selfish jurists. Thus, the Islamic society is dominated by hatred and envy, and there is a lot of crimes and lack of ethics. The legislation concerning the rights of zakat must be amended based on the reference of the Holy Quran, not on the legislation of the human narratives, and its psychological components such as the love of money and greed which overshadowed their legislation.