Book Review
Alongside Salah, the importance of Zakah is repeatedly emphasised throughout the Qur’an. The first Caliph Abu Bakr (RA) declared that those who refused to pay Zakah could be fought against. Yet Zakah has often received less attention than Hajj, fasting, and prayer. Aijaz Ahmad Rather’s book, Zakah: A Brief Introduction, is a timely addition to the subject.
Nasir Rather
Zakah is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam. Alongside Salah (prayer), its importance is repeatedly emphasised throughout the Qur’an. The first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr (RA), is reported to have declared that those who refused to pay Zakah while professing adherence to Islam could be fought against, underscoring the centrality of Zakah within the Islamic social and economic order. The contemporary Muslim scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi has similarly argued that, in an Islamic state, coercive action can be taken against individuals who deliberately refuse to fulfil their obligation of paying Zakah.
Despite its significance, Zakah has often received less attention than other pillars of Islam such as Hajj, fasting (Roza), and Salah. Public discourse frequently emphasises the ritual dimensions of Islam, while the socio-economic and redistributive aspects embodied in Zakah remain comparatively neglected.
In this context, Aijaz Ahmad Rather’s book, Zakah: A Brief Introduction, published by Literary Niche, is a timely addition to the subject. Spanning 124 pages, the book is divided into eleven chapters and several subsections, offering a concise yet comprehensive treatment of Zakah and its various dimensions.
In the preface, the author outlines in detail the motivations behind writing the book. Among the principal reasons is his desire to present the subject in a modern idiom. He notes that much of the existing literature on Zakah is insufficiently contextualised to contemporary realities and often fails to engage with prevailing intellectual and academic discourses. The book therefore seeks to bridge this gap by presenting the institution of Zakah in a manner that is both accessible and relevant to modern readers (p. 7).
The introductory chapter describes Zakah as an important social safety net and provides a brief overview of its significance within the Islamic tradition (p. 11).
The second chapter attempts to formulate a comprehensive, robust, and authentic definition of Zakah by incorporating the two principal terms used in the Qur’an for this institution, namely Zakah and Sadaqah. The author defines Zakah as “a tax levied on specific forms of wealth on an annual or seasonal basis when they exceed prescribed thresholds, imposed as a religious obligation on the believers, for disbursement on prespecified sections” (p. 16).
The third chapter seeks to challenge the widespread perception that Zakah is merely a form of charity. This discussion is particularly important because the misconception continues to be perpetuated through popular discussions, social networking platforms, and informal public discourse. At times, the confusion is also reflected in contemporary Muslim scholarship. For instance, in Born a Muslim: Some Truths About Islam in India, author and political commentator Ghazala Wahab frequently employs the term “charity” interchangeably with Zakah (p. 377). To distinguish Zakah from voluntary charity, Rather identifies eight defining characteristics that collectively demonstrate its unique status as a mandatory institution of social and economic justice rather than a discretionary act of benevolence (p. 18).
In the fourth chapter, Rather draws extensively upon the Qur’an and a substantial corpus of Hadith literature to establish that Zakah is not merely a religious obligation but also a prerequisite of faith and a right of the poor (pp. 25-26).
One of the distinguishing features of the book is its chapter on the basic concepts required for the calculation of Zakah, a topic that is often overlooked or inadequately addressed in introductory works. In this chapter, the author explains three approaches to determining Zakah liability: the gold nisab approach, the silver nisab approach, and the mixed nisab approach (pp. 48-49). These approaches are illustrated through practical examples, enabling readers to grasp their application with clarity.
In the chapter titled “Outlays of Zakah”, the author identifies the eight categories of beneficiaries upon whom Zakah collected within a region should be spent. He pays particular attention to indebted persons and travellers, categories that are frequently neglected in contemporary discussions despite their explicit inclusion among the legitimate recipients of Zakah. To substantiate these categories, the author draws upon relevant Qur’anic verses and Prophetic traditions. Within the category of travellers, he further identifies students and refugees as deserving recipients of Zakah, thereby extending the discussion to groups whose vulnerability is particularly relevant in the contemporary world (p. 77).
Chapter Nine: Zakah and Poverty examines the problem of poverty from both conceptual and empirical perspectives. The author presents data on global wealth inequality, supported by appropriate sources, and discusses various forms of poverty. A notable strength of this chapter is its reliance on statistics and empirical evidence. The discussion culminates in an exploration of how Zakah, if properly implemented, can serve as a potential instrument for poverty alleviation on a global scale (pp. 85-103).
In Chapter Ten: Zakah and Distributive Justice, the author discusses the philosophical and practical foundations of distributive justice and argues that Zakah constitutes an institutionalised mechanism for achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth. The discussion is particularly valuable because it moves beyond the conventional understanding of Zakah as a religious obligation and situates it within broader debates on distributive justice and wealth redistribution (pp. 107-115).
The final chapter offers reflections on how an effective Zakah system may be institutionalised in the absence of an Islamic state, a question of considerable relevance for contemporary Muslim societies. The author proposes practical mechanisms through which Zakah may be organised and administered in modern contexts, thereby enhancing the contemporary relevance of the work.
Overall, the book is a timely contribution to the literature on an often-neglected pillar of Islam. It succeeds in presenting complex theological, legal, and socio-economic issues in a concise and accessible manner while also introducing several themes that are rarely discussed in introductory treatments of the subject. Its emphasis on Zakah as a mechanism of distributive justice and the approaches to collecting Zakah add particular value to the work.
Nevertheless, the absence of references at certain important points somewhat diminishes its scholarly utility and remains a shortcoming that should be addressed in future editions. Despite this limitation, the book deserves to be widely read by students, researchers, and general readers interested in understanding the religious, social, and economic dimensions of Zakah.
The writer (reviewer) is a Physics student at Jamia Millia Islamia
nasirrather 34*@***il.com