I have written about Sayyid Qutb in my column before, especially his unbelievable slanders about Hazrat Uthman. Some of my readers have continued to ask me whether he had other mistakes and where he deviated from the Ahl al-Sunnah creed. This is because today, perhaps specifically, Sayyid Qutb is being tried to shine again and especially his works are being systematically introduced into madrasas that claim to teach Ahl al-Sunnah. In this regard, I decided to write one or two more articles about him…
One of the most criticized points of Sayed Qutb is his views on zakat.
The socialism he had been involved in before had a great influence on this issue. Those who read his views and ideas on zakat cannot help but say, “These have nothing to do with Islam, they are the basic tenets of socialism”.
Indeed, Sayyid Qutb, in his book “Peace of the World and Islam”, states:
“It is a fact that only the state collects this tax, called zakat, as it collects every tax. And it is the state that is responsible for its spending according to a certain procedure that may vary according to the needs and conditions of the society.” (p.152)
It can be seen that Sayyid Qutb sees zakat like the taxes collected by today’s governments. However, zakat is the right of the poor. The people to whom zakat is to be given are clearly stated in the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
These are the poor, the needy, the officials assigned to collect zakat, those whose hearts are to be warmed to Islam called muellefe-i kulûb, those who are to be freed from captivity, the debtors, those who struggle in the way of Allah, and those who are stranded. (Surat al-Tawbah, 60) Some of these classes do not exist today. Therefore, Muslims today distribute zakat to poor Muslims, primarily close relatives.
On the other hand, Sayyid Qutb’s statement that the state spends the zakat “according to the needs and conditions of the community” is completely contrary to the institution of zakat.
Because zakat is not spent on the needs of society. It is contrary to all four madhhabs, it is non- sectarianism. The legitimate government cannot build roads and bridges with the zakat money it receives, nor can it give it to any charitable organization. Zakat is only the right of those who are mentioned in the Qur’ân al-kerîm and who have them today. No sectarian has the authority to change this right in the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
Sayyid Qutb, in his book “Peace of the World and Islam”, defends the same delusion and says the following:
“Zakat is not an individual charity that passes from one hand to another. If today, some people are separating the zakat of their wealth with their own hands and distributing it with their own hands, this is not a form and order prescribed by Islam.” (p.153)
Likewise, in his book “Islamic Studies” he states, “Zakat is not an individual donation given from hand to hand.” (p.75)
Is it a crime to accumulate property?
This means that if a rich person gives his zakat to his poor relatives as stated in the hadith and the fiqh books, according to Sayyid Qutb, this is not in accordance with the religion! In this case, I ask, what do you call someone who does not like the ruling of our religion?
However, if Muslims give their zakat by hand to the poor, the state cannot interfere with this. All Ahl al-Sunnah scholars state that the rich should give their zakat to the poor. The hadith-i- sherîf says, “Allahu ta’âlâ does not accept the zakat given to others although there are poor relatives.” In other words, even if he gets rid of his zakat debt, he will not attain the great reward that comes from zakat. It is more virtuous to give zakat to relatives. After these, it is virtuous to give it to poor neighbours or to poor people whom one knows well and has researched.
On the other hand, Sayyid Qutb consistently condemns and denigrates the accumulation of wealth, regardless of whether it has been paid zakat or not. As a matter of fact, in his book “Peace of the World and Islam”, he points to the 34th verse of Surat al-Tawbah, which reads, “Give good news of a painful torment to those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah’s cause” and says, “It is a crime to hoard wealth, even if the zakat has been paid.” (p.149)
However, it is not a crime to keep the property for which zakat has been paid. As a matter of fact, in the commentary of this verse, “Many narrations attributed to the Prophet and the Companions state that the possession of wealth without neglecting the obligatory duties, especially the payment of zakat, and without having a servant’s right on it, is not within the scope of the expression of being liable to punishment here.” (See Qur’ân Yolu Tafsir, vol.2, pp.762-763)
In fact, the word “kenz”, which is used in the sense of accumulation, as a term of jurisprudence, means “any kind of property that is subject to zakat and zakat is not paid”. Therefore, those who accumulate wealth and do not give zakat to the poor, even though the conditions are met, are the ones who will be vilified and liable to punishment.
Our beloved Prophet said in one of his hadiths, “The wealth whose zakat has been paid is not “kenz”, that means, it is not hoarded” (Abu Dawud, Tabarani, Hakim, Hatib, Munawi). Therefore, if a rich person has paid zakat on his wealth, he can save that wealth for some of his needs in the future.
We also see that many other hadiths have been narrated in support of this point. For example, the Prophet’s words: “If you pay the zakat of your property, you fulfil your responsibility” [Tirmidhi, “Zakat”, 2], “If you pay the zakat of your property, you remove the evil of the property from yourself. [Hakim, al-Mustadrek, “Zakat”, I, 547] are cited as evidence that only zakat is obligatory.
In addition, the narration of Umm Salamah, “I was wearing some jewellery made of gold; I asked Rasulullah: Is this considered to be “kenz”? Rasulullah replied (If it reaches the zakat amount and the zakat is paid, it is not considered to be “kenz”)” (Abu Dawud, “Zakat”, 3) is among the important evidences of this issue.
The source of mistakes!
The point that led Sayyid Qutb to make mistakes about zakat is probably the fact that he could not completely get rid of the influence of socialism! When Sayyid Qutb returned to Islam, he did not take the Ahl al-Sunnah scholars, but the people of bid’ah as a reference for himself. He always attempted to analyse and evaluate the Qur’an and hadiths with his own mind. This situation has led him to misunderstandings in many places.
As a matter of fact, Sayyid Qutb almost does not recognise personal property in his evaluation of zakat and in his discussion of statism. He sees property and wealth in the hands of the community. According to him, when goods and property belong to the society, the state will be able to take and use them as it wants and in the way it wants.
As a matter of fact, see the following statements in the book “Islamic Studies”:
“Since the property is the possession of the community and the duty of the individual does not go beyond making use of it, when other members of the community need or want to make use of this property, the individual is obliged to lend it to them without interest in order to realise social solidarity.” (p.74)
Thus, Sayyid Qutb, firstly, by saying “Property is the possession of the community”, does not accept private wealth like the socialists.
Secondly, he says: “The rich are obliged to lend money to the poor in order to realise social solidarity”. However, in our religion, forcing someone to lend money would be cruelty, extortion!
Again in the book “Islamic Studies”; “We call all citizens to a system in which they will have equal rights to all sources of income. Because in this system, property belongs to the community, which has been authorised by Allah. Individual ownership is temporary and only within the principles of utilisation. The community has the right to take the surplus property when deemed necessary” (p. 86), showing that the system he calls for is nothing other than socialism.
In his book “Peace of the World and Islam”, he refers to the same views on various occasions. He states very clearly: “The state takes from private property as much as it needs, without returning it, and spends it on the public needs of society” (p.149,150). There is no limit to the degree of need it will take.
However, in Islam there is private property. Everyone is the owner of his property. However, the individual is obliged to give zakat and ushr to the places indicated by Allah Almighty and as much as He has declared. Apart from this, he is not obliged to give alms or lend money to anyone. However, those who want to earn good deeds are free to give as much charity as they wish.
It is clearly written in the Mecelle, in Dürr-ul-Muhtar and in various hadiths that the private property of a person cannot be taken without his consent.
Inshallah, we will continue to explain some of the other corrupt ideas of Sayyid Qutb, who could not get over from the grip and influence of socialism, next week…
REFLECTION
If you want to reach the favours of Allah.
Listen to my words, stay away from those with corrupt beliefs.
Lâ Edri
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şimşirgil
8th March 2024
Türkiye Gazetesi