Obligatory charity
Obligatory charity (Arabic: الصَّدَقَة الواجِبة) refers to financial obligations in Islam, such as zakat of wealth, zakat al-fitra, and kaffaras. In Islamic jurisprudence, obligatory charity is not independently discussed, and each example is discussed separately. From the viewpoint of some jurists, a general ruling about obligatory charity is that it is better to pay it publicly, in contrast to the recommended charity.
Definition of Obligatory Charity
Sadaqa (charity) means to give our property to others for God.[1] There are two types of charity: recommended and obligatory. Hiba (gift) or giving property to another, if done with the intention of closeness to God, is a recommended charity. Obligatory charity also includes items such as zakat of wealth, zakat al-fitra, and kaffaras, which are obligatory to be paid.[2]
Rulings
In the jurisprudential books, each obligatory charity has its rulings, and their rulings are examined separately. For example, "zakat" of wealth, "zakat al-fitra", and "kaffaras" each have an independent discussion in fiqh and are discussed in separate chapters.[3] However, in some jurisprudential writings, obligatory charity has been discussed in general; for example, Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi (d. 1266/1850) mentioned a ruling about obligatory charity in a part of his book Jawahir al-kalam with the title of "waqf and sadaqa". He has mentioned that some jurists, citing some hadiths, have said that it is better to pay obligatory charity openly, contrary to the recommended charity, which is better to be given secretly. But, some have also said that it is better to pay any charity, whether obligatory or recommended, in secret.[4] Muhammad Salih Mazandarani, one of the jurists of the 11th century AH, stated that the reason for the second view is that paying charity secretly keeps us away from hypocrisy.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Marʿī, al-Qāmūs al-fiqhī, p. 124; Murawwij, Iṣṭilāhāt-i fiqhī, p. 309-310.
- ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq bā madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a), vol. 5, p. 65.
- ↑ Khoeī, Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khoeī, vol. 23, p. 2; vol. 24, p. 360; vol. 21, p. 305; Kāshif al-Ghitāʾ, Anwār al-fiqāha, vol. 3, p. 1, 125; vol. 4, p. 25.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 132.
- ↑ Māzandarānī, Sharḥ al-Kāfī, vol. 6, p. 219.
References
- Kāshif al-Ghitāʾ, Jaʿfar. Anwār al-fiqāha. 2nd edition. Najaf: Mu'assisa Kāshif al-Ghitāʾ, 1422 AH.
- Khoeī, Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim al-. Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khoeī. 1st edition. Qom: Muʾassisa Iḥyāʾ Āthār al-Imām al-Khoeī, [n.d].
- Marʿī, Ḥusayn. Al-Qāmūs al-fiqhī. Beirut: Dār al-Mujtabā, 1413 AH.
- Māzandarānī, Muḥammad Sāliḥ b. Ahmad. Sharḥ al-Kāfī. Tehran: al-Maktaba al-Islāmīyya, 1342 AH.
- Murawwij, Ḥusayn. Iṣṭilāhāt-i fiqhī. 1st edition. Qom: Intishārāt-i Bakhshāyish, 1379 AH.
- Najafī, Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. 7th edition. Edited by: ʿAbbās Qūchānī & ʿAlī Ākhūndī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1404 AH.
- Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq bā madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a). Qom: Muʾassisa Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1382 Sh.