Community Conversation - Healing our World: Tzedakah, Zakat, and Charity: What’s next?

Remarks by Rahman Khan

Thank you to Mecklenburg Ministries, Maria, and it is good to be with my friends Reverend Russ Dean and Rabbi Judy Schindler. I appreciate the invitation to speak and G-d willing, I can give an adequate representation of Al-Islam. I am going to mention seven brief notes about charity here.

1. Define "tzedakah/zakat/charity." Where does that concept originate in your tradition?

Zakat (charity) is very important for us in Al-Islam. It is actually one of the pillars or foundations of our faith and is just as significant as prayer. As a matter of fact, in the Holy Quran, you will see prayer and Zakat said together when G-d is reminding us of our obligations. The word Zakat comes from the word zakahah, which means purification. Therefore, giving Zakat means to purify the wealth we have been blessed with.

2. What does your faith require you to do in terms of charity?

This is done by giving 2.5% of our net worth, meaning that after our bills are debts are paid, we give 2.5% of what we have left. This Zakat is to be distributed directly to the poor.

The distributors of the Zakat, usually mosques or non-governmental groups, are to give to poor with preconditions. We don’t always know who is considered poor, so we trust that people who ask really need it. Allah specifically says that Muslims are to take care of the poor, orphans, travelers and the needy.

There is another word called Sadaqah, which is similar to the work Tzedakah, from the Jewish tradition. Sadaqah also means charity and comes from an Arabic root word meaning sincerity. Sadaqah can come in many forms, but is not a formal obligation like Zakat. Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, removing a thorn from the road is Sadaqah. Muslims also believe that simple things like helping an elderly lady across the street is Sadaqah. Even giving a smile can be charity. You know when you come home after a long day’s work and your child smiles at you, it makes the rest of your day go better!

3. Do you believe it is important to provide charity to those who do not help themselves?

Allah (the Arabic word for G-d) says when we give, it is like giving a grain of corn. That one kernel is put into the earth, then cultivated, and returned by 7 ears of corn, each with 100 grains on them. So that is saying when we give, we get 700 times return blessing!

Also, in the Holy Qur’an, Allah asks, "Who will loan Allah a beautiful loan?" This is a metaphor, we know we cannot loan Allah money, he doesn’t need our money or a loan – HE has everything. What he is saying is a lesson on giving, meaning who is going to give towards the things that G-d cares about.

Charity, particularly Zakat, should be done in private. We are told not to make a big deal of it. If someone boasts about their charity or says something like, "Hey that guy right there is wearing the suit I gave him, or look at the food I gave her" or provides any other reminder, that charity is nullified. The only exception to telling people about charity is when the collectors of charity are trying to motivate others to give. Some will even ask still that their names not be shared.

4. There have been criticisms of welfare that it enables those who do not want to work. Does charity create victims?

Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessing s be upon him) said, "Do not go to bed with your belly full, when your neighbor is hungry". And neighbor doesn’t necessarily mean the person on your street or in your community. It could mean people all over the world. The prophet also didn’t say, "Muslim neighbor", he said "neighbor" meaning that we should also care for people outside of our own faith.

We believe our prophet led a perfect life. Not that he did not make mistakes – he was human, but he lived his life as human did with mistakes and learned from them. One of the few times he was reprimanded for a mistake, according to Hadith (life and sayings of the prophet), was when he walked past a poor person trying to catch up with a wealthy person. He was trying to speak with the wealthy person that could support the community financially, but in his haste moved past a person in need. When the prophet received this message from G-D, he asked for HIS forgiveness.

5. What specific things does your congregation do to relieve suffering, help the poor, provide assistance, etc?

Locally, we have a small community and are not wealthy, yet we take pride in giving to the poor and needy. We just recognized, All Praises due to G-D, our 10 year milestone of feeding the homeless at one of the local shelters. The organizers at our mosque, very humbly and without wanting a lot of fanfare, said that they continue to push it for the sake of Allah. We also give, especially during our fasting period during the month of Ramadan, and have held numerous clothes and food drives over the years. Of course, though, we can always do more.

In closing, we have a religious and moral obligation to give to the needy. We want people to learn how to fish, instead of just getting fish – but we do not know folks situation. Some of the requesters of help don’t know how or where to fish and don’t have a fishing hole in their communities to do it. We will continue to give charity and ask Allah to bless us all so we help more who are in need.

A few other notes inspired by advance questions.

· The Holy Quran doesn’t give guidance that we should pray for wealth. We should pray for what wealth provides - good homes, nutritious food, etc.

· Zakat is a form of worship. When we want to worship G-D, one way is to give charity. We believe this is one of our tests.

· Imam W. Deen Mohammed, our contemporary leader who lives in Chicago now, defined charity like this: "It’s when you go into your pocket for the needy, go into your mind for the needy, and go into your heart for the needy."

· One way to help the needy and poor is to not take a paternalistic role. Don’t approach communities saying you have all of the answers or that you are going to be the sole helpers or saviors of that community.

· I think you mobilize the communities to address poverty like you do anything else. Like crime and education, it is not an easy target and not a quick fix. I think you take 2 or 3 root causes and address them. For example, going to city officials or employers and have them reexamine the minimum wage, or unemployment, or housing costs. There has to be a group effort to go out and address these issues, persons from different backgrounds, neighborhoods, and income levels.

· The faith community should be coming together to address this issue. One of the challenges is the large role of business in our community. Decisions are made more for businesses than the average person and this many times hurts the poor. Some of these business people belong to our congregations. Are faith leaders willing to ask the tough questions to business leaders - that may eventually move the businesspersons to leave the congregations (and take their checkbooks with them)!

· The other issue is our own intra-faith dealings. We have some in the Muslim community, and I can imagine the others, that do not want to work with people of other faiths. We have to remove this wall of separation – particularly when comes to us all working together for what all of our faiths believe is the common good.