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ON THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
MEANING OF ZAKAT IN EARLY ISLAM
BY
SULIMAN BASHEAR
Introduction
HE INFORMATION provided by Muslim sources on zakdtlsadaqa
(poor-tax/rate, almsgiving), which eventually emerged as one
of the "pillars" (arkdn) of classical Islam, has been outlined by
modern scholars. While the voluntary vs. obligatory nature of
zakdtlsadaqaand their interchangeable occurrence in these sources
were considered, it has also been noted that, in the time of the
Prophet, these were still vague regulations and did not represent
taxes demanded by religion. Widely circulated reports concerning
the refusal of certain Bedouin tribes to pay zakdt after the Prophet's
death as they considered their agreements with him cancelled by
that, as well as 'Umar's inclination to agree with this, and the fact
that only Abuf Bakr made it a permanent institution, were brought
in support of such an assessment.'
The basic difference between sadaqa, which was primarily applied
to the supererogatory, and the obligatory nature of zakdt, has also
been noted.2 And the eventual emergence of alms as an obligatory
duty in Islam led one scholar, H. Grimme, to the suggestion that
Muhammad "should be treated as a social rather than a religious
reformer. "3 R. Bell, in turn, gave weight to the fact that the order
to pay zakdt occurs in "Meccan passages" of the Qur'an and noted
that such occurrence comes "only in the sense of alms and volun-
tary giving to the poor, as much for the purification of the giver's
1
J. Schacht, s.v. "Zakat" in Encyclopaediaof Islam, first edition, IV, 1202-4;
H.A.R. Gibb andJ. Kramers, eds., Shorter Encyclopaediaof Islam, Leiden 1974, pp.
654-5, and the sources cited therein.
2 E. Lane, Arabic-EnglishLexicon,repr. Beirut 1980, IV, p. 1668.
3 H. Grimme, Mohammed, Miunster 1892, quoted by Tor Andrae, Mohammed,
theMan and His Faith, London 1936, pp. 101-2; and R. Bell, The Originof Islam
in its ChristianEnvironment,
London 1926, p. 79.
soul as for relief of the needy. "4 Concerning the institution of zakdt,
which is nowhere regulated, J. Schacht cautiously pointed to the
fact that Muslim sources place it in Medina between the years 2 and
9 A. H., while R. Bell sounds more confident when saying that "its
beginning belongs to the first year or two in Medina and was
motivated by the circumstances of the poorer Muhajiriun and
necessities of the state. "5
Scholars also disagreed concerning the similarity between and
possible origins of zakdt and sadaqain parallel institutions and
cognate words from the vocabulary of other religions in the area.
R. Bell held that "the word zakdtis Syriac and therefore Chris-
tian", but J. Schacht and others expressed the view that it was bor-
rowed fromJewish usage of Hebrew-Aramaiczdktt.6 And the same
was held concerning sadaqaas a transliterationof the Hebrew seddka
which originally meant "honesty". We are also told that, as
applied by the Pharisees for what they considered the chief duty of
the pious Israelites, namely almsgiving, the proper sense of this
word, which is voluntary or spontaneous "charity", was still
retained at the time of the coming of Islam and elsewhere.7 One
scholar, H.P. Smith, held that Muslim tazkiyain the sense of
purification of property corresponds to a similar notion expressed
in Deuteronomy 14:28, though, later, zakdtemerged as a regular tax
of the Muslim State.8 C.C. Torrey, in turn, expressed the view that
zakdtand sadaqaare loan words from the North Semitic languages,
corresponding in particular to Aramaic zakuitand sidakta and
Hebrew sidaka, respectively. The Aramaic words, he held,
originally meant "purity" and were used by both Jews and Chris-
tians in the sense of "virtuous conduct". To this he added the view
that "the latter term (sidakta)was widely used in Aramaic speech
to mean alms."9
pp. 82-3, 167 (in Hebrew); K.H. Gordon, Before There Was the Bible, Tel-Aviv
1966, p. 36. For the comparative search into this as well as the other Semitic
languages throughout this section I was helped by 0. Ifrati to whom I owe a debt
of gratitude.
88 SULIMAN BASHEAR
From the root ZKH in Assyrian is derived the word zakuin the
senses of being pure, clean and shining as well as free from com-
mitments. Uzakkimeans to declare one free from commitments,
while zakutaoccurs in texts of the same language in the sense of:
being free from payment of tithes due to the gods, an agreement,
a judgement, a declarationof the independence of cities and regula-
tions and laws relating to land properties.18 And Uzakkiin Ugaritic
texts indicates freeing a town from works due to the king. 19Phoeni-
cian words derived from the roots ZK and ZKA are used in the
sense of "pure", while ZKI of the same language occurs also in the
senses of being not guilty and free of charge.20
The root ZKH in Gecez denotes purity,2"while in Tigre and
Gurage the word zakatmeans both a tax paid to the local chief and
a present.22In Amharic, however, words derived from the same
root denote food either begged for by poor students or given by rich
people to the poor and the priests.2" And a similar meaning, of
charity for the poor, as well as a tax, is derived from the Sabaean
root ZKW.24
The senses of being innocent, declared not guilty in court and
pure, are often born also by Syriac and Imperial Aramaic words
derived from the roots ZK/H/I/W. Besides, such words in Syriac
are used also in the senses of to be victorious, overcome, occupy
and rule by force.25 And the same can be noted about Hebrew
18
W. Muss-Arnolt, Assyrisch-Englisch-Deutsches Berlin 1986, I,
Handwdrterbuch,
277-9.
19 C.H. Gordon, UgariticManual,Part 3: Comprehensive
Glossary,Roma 1955, p.
261.
20 Cf. Z.S. Harris, A Grammar of thePhoenicianLanguage,Philadelphia 1936, p.
99; Ch.-F. Jean and J. Hoftijzer, Dicti.onnaire des InscriptionsSernitiques
de l'ouest,
Leiden 1965, p. 76.
21 W. Leslau, Concise Dictionaryof Gecez,Wiesbaden 1987, p. 637.
22 W. Leslau, Etymological Dictionaryof Gurage,Wiesbaden 1979, III, 705; idem,
NorthEthiopicandAmharicCognatesin Tigre, Napoli 1982, p. 85.
23 W. Leslau, Concise AmharicDictionary,Wiesbaden 1976, p. 183.
24
A.F.L. Beeston, M.A. Ghul, W.W. Muller and J. Ryckmans, Dictionnaire
Sabeen(AnglaisFrancaisArabe), Beyrut 1982, p. 170; B.J. Copeland, Dictionaryof Old
SouthArabicSabaeanDialect, Chicago 1982, p. 159.
25 Cf. J. Payne Smith, ed., A Compendious SyriacDictionary,FoundedUpon the
ThesaurusSyriacusof R. PayneSmith,Oxford 1903, p. 115; M.H. Goshen-Gottstein,
A Syriac-EnglishGlossary,Based on Brockelmann's Syriac Chrestomathy, Wiesbaden
1970, p. 21; A.J. Darham, Darham'sDictionaryof theStabilizedandEnrichedAssyrian
Languageand English, Chicago 1943, p. 145; L.B. Costaz, DictionnaireSyriaque-
Francais,Syriac-English Dictionary,Beyrouth 1963, pp. 87-8; Ch.-F. Jean and J.
Hoftijzer, op. cit., p. 76.
ZAKAT 89
32 Tabari (d. 310/922), Tafsfr,Cairo 1954, II, 297-8; Ibn Abi Hatim, ibid. Cf.
34
Tabari, I, 572-3; Ibn Abi Hatim, I, 150, 259.
35 Mujahid, Tafsfr, Beirut n.d., I, 83.
36 Ibn Abi Hatim, I, 149-50; Muqatil b. Sulayman, Tafszr,Ms. Saray, Istan-
Muqatil held the same view." And from one source we learn that
the early fourth century al-JubbaiP(d. 303/915) said that on this
matter there was a consensus (yima).45
As for the question who were those referred to by this verse, two
main currents can be discerned. One says that it warned against the
Jewish ahbdrand Christian ruhbdn/var.,ahl-al-kitibwho did not pay
zakat,and the second held that it included the Muslims too because
of the conjunctive waw, as noted above. From a unique tradition,
one can gauge that this reading with waw aimed in the first place
at presenting the whole verse as referring to both ahl al-kitib and
Muslims. According to this tradition, cAlba' b. Ahmar, who was
a "reader" (qiri') of the Qur'an, active in early to mid-second cen-
tury Basra (exact death date unknown), said that when cUthman
b. cAffan ordered the canonical Codex to be written down people
wanted to omit the waw, but Ubayy objected and threatened to
fight for it and thus, it was retained.46
In spite of such "interpretative reading", to use J.
Wansbrough's terminology,47both cAbbas(through a family line of
cAtiyya al-cAwfi) and Dahhak are reported to have held that this
verse referred to both ahl al-kitaband Muslims.48Suddi, in turn, is
said to have held that the part of the verse which begins with "wa-l-
ladh/na"refers to the Muslims (lit., people of the qibla).49And cAta'
is said to have transmitted a view similar to this latter one from Ibn
cAbbas.50
A clear expression of the two conflicting currents over the
applicability of this verse comes in the form of a reported debate
between Mucawiya and Abu Dharr, a debate which is said to have
determined the personal future of the latter. According to one tradi-
tion, when asked by Zayd b. Wahb about the reason for which he
was banished to al-Rabadha, Abu Dharr explained that it was his
IV, 176-8. Cf. also Nasafi, II, 124. For a unique view reported from al-Baqir (d.
114-8/732-6), see al-Qummi (d. 326/939), Tafsir, Najaf 1386/1966, I, 289.
44 Muqitil, I, 153(a).
45 Tabarsi, X, 53.
46 Suyfii, Durr, IV, 178-9, quoting Ibn al-Dirris.
47 For the view that Qur'anic "reading" is
actually a matter of exegesis, see
his Qur'dnicStudies,Oxford 1977, p. 226.
48 Tabari, XIV, 225; WaIhidi(d. 468/1075), Asbalbal-Nuzzll,Beirut n.d., p. 184;
Suyuti, Durr, Iv, 178, quoting Abui al-Shaykh (d. 369/979).
49 Tabari, XIV, 219; Suyiati, Durr, IV, 179, quoting Ibn Abi Hatim;
Wihidi,
p. 183; Qurtubi, IV, 2963.
50 Wahidi, p. 184.
ZAKAT 93
51 Mujahid, Tafsfr,Beirut n.d., I, 277 (where Warqa"s tradition does not state
Mucawiya's name and says instead: "then, a man said ..."; Tabari, XIV, 227-8;
Qummi, I, 52 (where no isnad was provided); Wah.id!,p. 183; Qurtubi, IV, 2963.
52
Tabarl, ibid.
Qurtubi, IV, 2963.
54 Nasafi, II, 124.
55Ibn Maja (d. 275/888), Sunan, Cairo 1952, I, 568-9; Nasd'i (d. 303/915),
Sunan,Cairo 1987, V, 11-2; Tabarani (d. 360/970), al-Mu5jamal-Kabfr,Baghdad
94 SULIMAN BASHEAR
tions, associated with the names of 'All and Ibn 'Umar, interpret
the word "al-ma'un"of Qur'an CVII:7 as zakct and sadaqa.56And
similar isolated traditions connect Qur'an XLI: 7 and III:144 with
urging to pay zakdtand Abu Bakr's decision to fight against those
who refused to do so, respectively.57
Shafici (d. 204/819) notes Qur'an III:180, IX:34 and IX: 103 as
verses connected with ordaining the payment of zakdt,but does not
express any preference between them.58 From two fourth century
sources we uniquely learn that both cIrak b. Malik (Medinese, d.
101-5/719-23) and cUmar II held that Qur'an IX:34 was actually
abrogated by Qur'an IX: 103.59Indeed, this latter verse is the one
most often cited as regulating the order to pay zakdt,a fact which
justifies a detailed examination of the exegetical and traditional
material on it.
To begin with, Qur'an IX: 103 orders the Prophet to extract
sadaqafrom certain people in order to purify them of their guilt,
using the verbs tutahhiruhumwa-tuzakkfhimto denote such an aim.
The ones referredto by this verse are anonymously hinted at in the
preceding one, Qur'an IX: 102, as having committed bad deeds,
and the whole Qur'anic complex conveys the sense of sadaqanot as
charity but rather as a fine levied in order to purify from guilt.
Indeed, Razi, in his above-mentioned commentary on Qur'an
II:43, puts forward this notion as an alternative meaning of zakdt
by referring to Qur'an IX:103.60
The narratives often cited concerning the actual occasion on
which this verse was revealed, differ on the names and number of
those meant by it, as well as on the circumstances in which they
committed their sin, their repentance and related issues. The
number of sinners varies between one and ten according to the dif-
ferent traditions which relate the whole affair, with the name of
Abfi Lubaba, Marwan b. cAbd al-Mundhir al-Ansdri often said to
have been the central figure in it. From Ibn CAbbas, )alibk,
Qatada, Zuhri (d. 124/741) and Ibn Zayd (d. 182/798), we learn
that the sinners concerned were those who did not join the Prophet
(takhallafzu)for the campaign of Tabuik and that they were ten in
number. Zayd b. Aslam (Ibn Zayd's father, Medinese, d.
136/753), however, says that their number was eight. Qatada, in
turn, is reported to have also advocated the number of four, while
to others were attributed the views that the actual number was
variably six, five, three or only one person, AbuiLubTba.6'But the
element of Tabilk does not seem to have stuck well into this nar-
rative before the mid-second century Muqatil, Ibn Zayd and some
figures of the generation which reportedfrom the "students" of Ibn
cAbbas. More often than not we are merely told that the verse was
revealed concerning Abui Lubaba and his associates (nazalatft abf
lubdba wa-ashdbihd)who tied themselves to the pillar (sdriya) of the
mosque as a sign of repentence, and were untied by the Prophet
only when Qurc'n IX: 102 was revealed. Then they came to the
Prophet offering him their property by which they hoped he would
purify their sin. However, the Prophet, we are told, refused to take
it until Qur'an IX: 103 was revealed.
Mujahid is cited as holding that the affair of AbulLubaba's guilt
and repentance occurred rather when he informed Banfi Qurayza,
who were besieged by the Prophet, that they were about to be
executed.62And as cited by Bayhaqi, Sacid b. al-Musayyib (d. 93-
100/711-8) was reported to have combined the two occasions in
which Abfu Lubaba committed such sin, i.e., Tabuik and Banfi
Qurayza, in one tradition.63 However, a cross-examinationof a few
other sources reveals some serious gaps in connecting the Banui
Qurayza affair with the verse under consideration. Muqatil, for
example, records the treacherous behaviour of Abui Lubaba in the
61 Cf. Muqatil, I,
159(b); 'Abd al-Razzaq, 53(b); Tabarl, XIV, 454-6; Wahidi,
p. 195; Ibn cArabi, II, 1010; Razi, IV, 507; Qurtubi, IV, 3081; Nasafi, II, 143;
Abul Hayyan (d. 754/1353), al-Bahral-Muh4t, Cairo 1328/1910, V, 94; Suyfiti,
Durr,IV, 275, quoting Tabari, Ibn al-Mundhir (d. 318/930), Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn
Wardawayh (d. 410/1019) and Bayhaqi's (d. 458/1065) Dald'il al-Nubuwwa.
62
Qurtubi, IV, 3081; Abui Hayyan, V, 94.
63
Quoted by Suyfiti, Durr, IV, 276.
96 SULIMAN BASHEAR
64 Muqatil, I, 143(b).
65 Qummli, I, 303-4.
66 WIidi, pp. 175-6.
67
Ibn Hisham, al-Sfraal-Nabawiyya,Beirut 1975, III, 143-4.
ZAKAT 97
68 Cf. Ibn 'Arab!, II, 1011; Tabarsi, X, 134; Qurtubi, IV, 3081.
69
Razi, IV, 507-8; Qurtubi, IV, 3082.
70 Qurtubi,IV, 3083.
Zaijjj (d. 311/923), Maceinfal-Qur'an wa-ICribuhu, Beirut 1988, II, 467; Ibn
71
cArabi, II, 1010; Tabarsi, X, 134; Razi, IV, 508-9; Nasafi, II, 144; AbufHayyan,
V, 95; Baydawi, I, 400.
72 Ibn Qutayba, Gharfb al-Hadith, Beirut 1988, I, 15.
98 SULIMAN BASHEAR
that God has forgiven them and accepted their repentance" (inna
du'daaka wa- stighfdrakatuma'ninatun lahum bi-anna i-ldha qad 'afd
'anhumwa-qabila tawbatahum).For this he relies on a tradition of Ibn
cAbbas (from the family line of cAtiyya al-cAwfi) which interprets
wa-salli calayhim"as "request on their behalf for forgiveness of the
sins which they committed." The same was attributed to Ibn
cAbbas by IbnJurayj (d. 150/767) as well as reported from Dahhak
and forwarded by Muqatil.73 And Abui cUbayda, Ibn Qutayba,
Zajjaj and some later scholars understand "prayer" in this case as
supplication (ducdY),mercy (rahma) and forgiveness (maghfira).74
Clear support for this notion comes from the hadith genre in the
form of a widely circulated tradition associated with the name of the
Companion cAbd Allah b. Abi Awfa. It attributes to the latter the
saying that the Prophet used to pray for people from whom they
brought their sadaqdtand that once he made such a prayer on behalf
of cAbd Allah's father, Abuf Awfa.75 From one source we uniquely
learn that the Companion Bashir b. al-Khasasiya from the tribe of
Saduis advised a certain relative of his, named Dalsam (possibly
Daysam al-Sadiisi) to ask the collectors of sadaqato pray for him as
stated in Qur'an IX: 103 explaining that this would safeguard
against ill treatment by the latter.76 However, the isndd information
and certain variations in the tradition of Ibn Abi Awfa provides a
better ground for dating. From such information one can easily
conclude that the one responsible for circulating this latter tradition
77
'Abd al-Razzaq, Musannaf,IV, 57.
78
Zamakhsharl, II, 170-1; cf. also Bayhaql, Sunan,IV, 157; Tabarsi, X, 133-4.
79
Tabarani, al-Mu'jamal-Kabfr,VIII, 260-1.
80
Cf. Muqatil, I, 158(b); Fayr-azabadi(d. 817/1414), Tanwfr al-MiqbasMin
TafsfrIbn CAbbds, Beirut n.d., p. 127; Ibn Qutayba, Tafsfr, p. 191; Zamakhshari,
II, 168; Tabarsi, X, 124-5; Qurtubi, IV, 3073; Nasafi, II, 142; Baydawi, I, 399.
100 SULIMAN BASHEAR
Abuf al-Shaykh and Ibn AbiIHatim, quoted by Suyati, Durr, IV, 267.
82
Tabari, XIV, 431; Suyu-ti,Durr, IV, 267, quoting Ibn Abi Hatim.
83
Quoted by Tabarsi, X, 124-5.
84 Ibn 'Asakir, VII, 452.
85
Majlisi, XCIII, 28.
86
J. Wellhausen, Das Arabische
ReichundSeinSturz,repr. Berlin, 1960, pp. 14-5;
C. Brockelmann, Historyof theIslamicPeoples,N.Y. 1947, pp. 45-6. For Caetani's
view, see A.J. Wensinck, MuslimCreed,Leiden 1932, p. 12. See also B. Lewis, The
Arabs in History, London 1958, p. 51; M.A. Sha'ban, Islamic History, a New Inter-
pretation, Cambridge 1971, pp. 19-23; E. Shoufani, Al-Ridda and the Muslim Con-
questof Arabia,Beirut 1972, pp. 10-47, 71-106.
ZAKAT 101
the rulers was questioned as late as the second century A. H., but
still emphasized the socio-economic and political rather than
theological motives behind the ridda wars.87 Of the scholars who
highlighted the religious aspects of the ridda wars, mention may be
made of M.W. Watt and E. Landau-Tasseron, though the former
did so because he accepted the traditional Muslim view on the
matter.88
All this justifies a further examination of the reports on the
motives for the refusal to pay zakdt after the Prophet's death as well
as other related issues. One may recall here the information, briefly
noted above,89 that Malik b. Anas tended to accept the rationale for
such refusal during Abui Bakr's reign, namely that the imperative
verb khudhof Qur'an IX: 103 applied personally to the Prophet and
that, since the latter was the only one empowered by God to levy
zakdt in return for making the prayer and invocation to purify the
payers, such a condition ceased to exist with his death; hence, the
duty to pay zakdtto his successor does not apply. Also of importance
is the fact, noted by Kister, that, following Shafici, some scholars
differentiated between two different kinds of murtaddiin:those who
renounced Islam completely and followed the "false prophets",
and those who adhered to Islam, were ready to perform prayer but
refused only to pay zakdt, saying that, according to Qur'an IX: 103,
only the Prophet was empowered to purify them in return. 90
Clearly, as Kister rightly notes, the question at stake, at least for
the Shica, was recognizing Abiu Bakr's authority after the Prophet,
a fact testified by a poetical verse usually cited in this context and
alternatively attributed to al-Hutay'a, his brother, al-Khutayl b.
Aws, Haritha b. Suraqa al-Kindi and possibly others
87 Wensinck, pp. 13-4; M.A. Kister, "... illa bi-haqqihi ....", JerusalemStudies
in Arabicand Islam, 5 (1984), 51-2.
88
E. Landau-Tasseron, Aspectsof theRidda Wars,unpublished Ph.D. disserta-
tion, the Hebrew University ofJerusalem, 1981, pp. 3-4; W.M. Watt, Muhammad
at Medina, Oxford 1956, pp. 147-8.
89
See note 70, above.
90 Kister, pp. 35-6. Cf. Shafili, al-Umm,Cairo 1322/1904, IV, 135; al-Busti (d.
388/998), Mac'lim al-Sunan,Halab 1933, II, 5-6; Ibn cArabi, II, 1006-7; Ibn Abi
al-Hadid, SharhNahj al-Baldgha,Cairo 1963, XVII, 210; Baghawi, Shark,V, 491;
Qurtubi, IV, 3083; Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1372) al-Biddyawa-l-Nihdya,Cairo 1932,
VI, 311. See also Ibn Actham al-Kilfi (d. 214/829), Kitubal-Futiih,Beirut 1986,
I, 14, where such differentiation is made without mentioning Qur'an IX: 103.
102 SULIMAN BASHEAR
91 Kister, pp. 38-40, notes 15, 16, 19. 20. This verse usually opens with saying:
ataCndrasuila1-lihi ma kdnabaynand,
fa-yd la-cibddi1-lahima-li-abi bakri.
For the variant wording and attribution of it, see al-Hutay'a, Dfwan, Cairo 1958,
pp. 329-30; Shaficl, IV, 134; Ibn Actham, I, 49; al-Busti, II, 4; al-Baghdadl,
Khizdnatal-Adab,Cairo 1967, II, 408, quoting Ibn Qutayba; Ibn cAbd al-Barr, al-
Tamhfd, Rabat 1974, IV, 232; al-Mawardi, al-Ahkdm al-Sultdniyya,Cairo
1282/1880, pp. 54-5; Ibn Abi al-Hadid, XVII, 211-2; Yaqut, Mu jam al-Bulddn,
Leipzig 1867, II, 286-7; Ibn Kathir, VI, 313. Cf. also the sources cited by Kister,
p. 35, n. 9, and E. Landau-Tasseron, pp. 131-2, n. 113.
92 Bayhaqi (d. 458/1065), al-Sunanal-Kubrd,Beirut 1986, VIII, 178, the full line
of isnadbeing: ... Yacquibb. Sufyan (al-Fasawl, d. 277/987) - Abiual-Yaman al-
Hakam b. Nafic (Hims, d. 211-2/826-7) - Safwdn b. cAmr (Himsi, d. 155/771)
cAbd al-Rahman b. Jubayr b. Nufayr (d. 118/736).
ZAKAT 103
and that the properties which they leave behind were safeguarded
by the laws of inheritance (al-mawdrfth).93
The Thawban and Salim b. Abi al-JaCd traditions are almost
identical in content. They do not explicitly refer to zakdt and say
only that when this verse was revealed people complained by
wondering what kind of property they were allowed to acquire. We
are also told that, in answer to 'Umar's enquiry the Prophet said
that the best kind of property is "a tongue to admonish God, a
heart to thank Him, and a good/believing wife to help one in the
matters of his religion. " A close look at the isndd of these traditions
reveals that they were basically transmitted from Salim and that the
chain of Thawban was added to the line only in some variants
reported from Salim by Mansuir b. al-Mu'tamir (d. 132/749), 'Amr
b. Murra (d. 116-8/734-6) and a certain Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah
al-Muradi. Note also that when the tradition is reported from Man-
suir and CAmr by either Thawri (d. 161/777) or al-ACmash
(Sulayman b. Mihran, d. 145-8/762-5), then the isndd line ends
with Salim b. Abi al-JaCd.94
Coming back to 'Umar's opposition to Abu Bakr during the ridda
wars, one notes that it usually takes the form of attributing to the
Prophet the saying that he was ordered to fight people until they
profess that there was no God but Allah, and that from the moment
they pronounce such a statement, their blood and properties would
be safeguarded except for the rights due on them, with God being
the only one to whom they should account (umirtu an uqdtila l-ndsa
hattdyaquluzla ildha illd 1-ldh,fa-idha qdliihacasamuiminni dimadahumwa-
amwdlahum illd bi-haqqihalwa-4hisdbuhum(ald 1-ldh). As against this,
Abu Bakr is usually quoted as swearing to fight against those who
distinguish between prayer and zakdt, the latter being the right due
out of property, even if it was only a camel's rope which they used
to pay to the Prophet (wa-l-ldhi la-uqdtilannamanfarraqa baynal-saldti
wa-l-zakdti,fa-inna l-zakdta haqqu1-mdli, wa-l-ldhi law manaCuini ciqdlan
kdnuyu 'addtinahuild rasuili1-ldhi la-qdtaltuhumcalayhz).
Roughly speaking, such reports were attributed to Anas, Ibn
cUmar, AbM Hurayra, Jabir and other Companions as well as
95 Wensinck, p. 14.
96
Kister, p. 38.
97 Landau-Tasseron, p. 15.
98
BukhMri,I, 11-2; Muslim, I, 39; Muhammad b. Nasr al-Marwazi (d.
294/906), TaCz4mQadral-Saldt,Medina 1406/1985, I, 89-95; al-Busti, II, 10-11;
Ibn Manda (d. 395/1004), Kitdbal-Imdn,Beirut 1985, I, 165-6; Baghawi, Sharlh,
I, 67-8.
ZAKAT 105
Note also that it was transmitted exclusively by the link: Ibn al-
Mubarak (181/797) - lIumayd al-Tawil (d. 143/760), and com-
paring the stylistic variations in it shows that its literary form was
the product of the generation which circulated it from Ibn al-
Mubarak.99One must add that, as such, this tradition does not
mention the involvement of cUmar or the ridda context. And
though this context is mentioned by an isolated variant of it
transmitted from Anas by the link: Macmar b. Rashid (d. 153/770)
Zuhri (d. 124/741), the comment of the traditionist Ibn Abi
Hatim (d. 327/839) leaves no doubt that this was a confused
moulding with another tradition associated with the name of Abui
Hurayra, the circulation of which was made through Zuhri too.100
No mention of cUmar's involvement, the riddacontext or any
conditions apart from the shahddawas made by less circulatedtradi-
tions associatedwith the names of the Companions AbuiBakr,Jabir
b. cAbd Allah, Jartiral-Bajall, Sahl b. Sacd, Samura b. Jundab, Ibn
cAbbas, Abui Malik al-Ashcari, al-Nucman b. BashIr, Mucadh b.
Jabal, a certain cousin of a man from Balqin and a mursalreport
of Ibrahim al-Nakhaci(d. 96/714),101 and the same can be noted for
most variants of the widely circulated tradition of Abut Hurayra,
transmitted from him by Sacid b. al-Musayyib (d. 93-100/711-8),
Abiu Salama b. cAbd al-Rahman (d. 94-104/712-22), Abiu Salih
(Dhakwan al-Samman, d. 101/719), al-Hasan (al-Basr1?), Ham-
mam b. Munabbih (d. 132/749), al-Acraj (cAbd al-Rahman b.
Hurmuz, d. 110-17/728-35), cAbd al-Rahman b. Abi cAmra(death
date unknown), cAbd al-Rahman b. Yacqfib al-Juhani (death date
99 Cf. Ibn al-Mubarak, Musnad,Riyad 1987, p. 147; Ibn Hanbal, III, 199, 224-
5; Tirmidhi (d. 279/892), Cairo 1934, X, 71-4; Marwazi, ibid.; al-BustY,ibid.,
quoting Abfu Dawuid; Baghawl, Sharh, I, 69; Abu Nasr al-Ytindrti (comp. in
521/1127), Hadtth,Ms. Zahiriyya, Daamascus,majmzuc/24, p. 91; Haythami (d.
807/1404), Majmacal-Zawa'id,Cairo and Beirut 1987, I, 26; quoting Tabarani's
al-Mu'jamal-Awsatwith additional variations.
100 Ibn Abi Hatim, cIlal al-Hadtth, Beirut 1985, II, 152-3, 159-60, quoting Abu-
Zurca (al-Rdzi, d. 264/878). Cf. also Bayhaql, Sunan,VIII, 177.
101 Muslim, I, 40; Ibn Maja, II, 1295; Marwazi, Tacz4m,I, 95 (cf. also his al-
Sunna,Beirut 1988, pp. 49-50, where, owing to an obvious textual confusion, one
is led to understand that the ones meant by this statement are the Jews and Chris-
tians); Tabarani, al-Mujam al-Kabir,VI, 132; VIII, 382; XI, 201; AbulTThir al-
Dhuhall (d. 367/977), IHadtth,Kuweit 1986, pp. 23-4; Bayhaqi, Sunan, VIII,
Haythami, I, 25-6, quoting Tabarani's al-Mu5am al-Kabir and al-Mujam al-Awsat
and Bazzar's (d. 292/904) Musnad.According to the mursal report of al-Nakhac1,
Abui Bakr stated his position invoking Qur'an III:144. See for it Ibn Abi Shayba
(d. 235/849), Mu.yannaf,Bombay 1970, III, 114.
106 SULIMAN BASHEAR
102 Muslim, I, 38-9; Ibn Maja, II, 1295; Tirmidhi, X, 68-9; Abui al-Fawdris
104
Shafici, al-Umm, IV, 134; Ibn Hibban, al-Stra al-Nabawiyya wa-Akhbadral-
Khulafd', Beirut 1987, p. 430; Mawardi, al-Ahkdm al-Sultaniyya, Cairo 1298/1880,
pp. 54-5; Ibn 'Arabi, al-CAwdsimMin al-Qawdsim,Cairo 1408/1987, pp. 63-4; Ibn
Kathir, al-Biddya wa-l-Nihdya, Cairo 1932, VI, 311; Dhahabi, Tdrikh al-Isldm,
Beirut 1987, III, 27; al-Muhibb al-Tabari, al-Ryaddal-Nadira,Cairo 1970, I, 175;
Suyiti-, Tdrikh al-Khulafd',Beirut 1986, pp. 84-6. Note that the phrase usually
applied here "wa-can 'umara"could also be taken to mean "and about 'Umar".
105 Bayhaql, Sunan,VIII, 177-8.
106
Al-Jahiz, al-cUthmanziyya,
Cairo 1955, pp. 81-2.
107
Al-Muhibb al-Tabari, 1, 175-6.
108 Ibh Actham, I, 58. For the other cases of refusal to pay zakdt
by Qurra b.
Hubayra al-Qushayrl and Malik b. Nuwayra al-Tamimi, see his I, 23, 25-6.
109 Tabarl, Tdrikh, Beirut 1967, III,
339; Ibn cAsakir, III, 43; Majlisi (d.
1111/1699), Bihalr al-Anwair,Beirut 1983, XXVIII, 11, quoting TUisi'sAmdlf.
108 SULIMAN BASHEAR
11O Cf. Tabari, Tdrikh,Beirut 1967, III, 339; Ibn CAsakir,III, 37-40; IX, 639;
Zaylali (d. 762/1360), Nasb al-Raya, Cairo 1938, II, 342, quoting Waqidi's Kitab
al-Ridda. For this last source, see E. Landau-Tasseron, p. 20 and n. 106 in
reference to M. Murayni, "Ein neuer Bericht uber die Wahl des ersten Kalifen",
Arabica,25 (1978), pp. 236 ff.
" Ibn 'Asakir, V, 555.
112
Cf. Tabari, Tdrfkh,III, 244-6, 258; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya,VI, 312.
113
Tabari, Tdrzkh,III, 259.
ZAKAT 109
Scholars'Viewsand Concluding
Remarks:
This last kind of historical reports on the riddawars as well as
some of the exegetical traditions on Qur'an IX:98 may contain a
grain of truth about actual cases in which certain Bedouin tribes
resisted the enforcement of paying zakdtand considered it as a tax,
fine or even a kind ofjizya. It is striking to note, however, that such
reports do not figure at all in the second century theological con-
troversies over the obligatory nature of zakdt,which centered on the
question of whether those who refuse to pay it should be fought
against. Such controversies drew basically upon the hadathmaterial
where the two opposite views were attributed to Abui Bakr on the
one hand and 'Umar, by invoking the above-mentioned pro-
phetical tradition, on the other.
An example of such use is the way in which the early AbufYiusuf
(d. 182/798) cites the above-mentioned tradition of Jabir b. 'Abd
Allah, on the conditions for fighting against non-believers, as a
basis for the legal ruling concerning one who apostasizes (al-hukmu
Jf 1-murtaddi cani 1-isldmi).According to him, this tradition implies
that such a person should be requested to repent (yustatdb).From
the way the whole issue is presented one can also gauge the
existence of an opposite view which relied on another prophetical
statement saying: "he who changes his religion should be killed"
(man baddaladinahufa-qtulzihu)."14And the comment made by
Baghawi leaves no doubt that such legal controversy also stood
behind the circulation of the traditions of Ibn cUmar and Anas
which, as noted above, do give detailed conditions in which a non-
Muslim should be combatted. In Baghawi's words, these traditions
meant for most scholars (wa-huwa qawlu akthariahli l-cilm) that the
repentance of a zindaqmust be accepted though his sincerity should
be left to God. However, he says, Malik and Ibn Hanbal added
that such repentance should not be accepted from one who conceals
his infidelity (ld tuqbalu tawbatu l-kdfiri 1-mustasirribi-kufrihi).115
A similar use of the widely circulated tradition of Zuhri from
cUbayd Allah - Abiu Hurayra, was made by al-Busti. Referring
to the phrase "wa-hisdbuhum cala l-ldh", he says that "most
scholars" held that an infidel who conceals his unbelief should not
be punished if he demonstrates Islam and his repentance should be
114
Abui Yiusuf, Kitab al-Khardj,Cairo 1352/1933, p. 180.
115
Baghawl, Sharh,I, 69.
110 SULIMAN BASHEAR
tion whether zakdt should be paid to the ruler irrespective of his per-
sonal conduct of the view concerning the legitimacy of his rule.'28
* * *
128 This is clear fromn the list of Successors quoted by Ibn Abi
Shayba as
holding the view that zakdtshould be paid to the rulers in any case (manqdlatudfa'u
l-zakdtuild I-sultdnt)as against those who gave a concession (rukhsa)for not paying
it in certain cases. Ibn Abi Shayba, III, 156-8.
ZAKAT 113
refusal of certain tribes to comply with the same order under Abui
Bakr. To this traditional core, the information that 'Umar
intervened on behalf of the rebels was added a notion which occurs
in a certain current of interpretingQur'an IX:34 as well. However,
our investigation reveals that other second century elaborations
were also made in the form of traditionsbearing the names ofJabir,
Anas, Ibn cUmar and others which aimed at establishing the pay-
ment of zakatas one of the criteria for defining who is a Muslim
upon whom war should not be waged, and did not originally stem
from the core of reports on actual cases of refusal to pay zakdt
during the riddawars.
Jerusalem