Ḥadīth Lesson: On Giving Zakāt

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al-Ḥaqqānī. Madad.

1Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Islām is built upon five pillars.” These are the conditions of Islām. “These are: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” That is, bearing witness: “Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan RasuluLlah.” “The second is prayer. The third is giving zakāt. After that, performing Hajj. And fasting Ramadan.” These are the foundations of Islām; none of them should be missed. Three are for all. Zakāt and Hajj are things that those who are not poor must do; they are among the foundations of Islām.

2Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Islām has a number of witnesses, like a guiding lighthouse,” meaning just like a lighthouse, it has signs that show the way, whether at sea or on land. “Its beginning and essence is bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.” Reciting the Shahadah

(declaration of faith) is the first step into Islām. “After that, it is to perform the prayer correctly, to give zakāt (charity), and to perform ablution perfectly.”

3Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Every wealth from which zakāt has been given is not considered as a treasure.” What is called “Kanz” is not accumulated wealth. That is, it is ḥalāl, it is complete. What is called “Kanz” is mixed money. When zakāt is paid on this it becomes pure, ḥalāl money.

4Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “He who pays the zakāt of his wealth, honors the guest, and helps the needy, is free from stinginess.” So, this person is not stingy. He has given his zakāt, he has been hospitable to his guests, he has helped those in need. The one who doesn’t do these things who is considered stingy. These people are not considered stingy.

5Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “A person who possesses these three things protects himself (his ego) from stinginess:” Stinginess is something disliked. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla dislikes it. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam dislikes it. People dislike stinginess too. Therefore, a person who does this is protected from stinginess. “Giving zakāt.” There are many wealthy people who, due to stinginess, don’t give their zakāt; there are countless wealthy people who do so. Most of them are in that situation. The rich who have money, but they can’t give it. That’s stinginess. “Hospitality to guests.” You should be hospitable to your guests as much as you can. There’s no need

to go and buy things from here and there, and then put yourself in a difficult situation, just so people don’t call you stingy. Whatever you have at home, honor your guest with it. That’s hospitality to them. “And helping those in need.” Helping those in need, as much as you can, will prevent you from putting yourself in a difficult situation.

A companion gave our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam a gold coin. Our Prophet ﷺ turned his head away. Then he came from the other side and said, “I found this gold coin; all my possessions are in this gold coin. I’ll give it to you.” Finally, our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam took the gold coin and threw it back at the man. He ﷺ said to him, “If you’re going to give me all your possessions and then beg, that’s not right. Give only as much as you can. Spend the rest yourself taking care of your family.” This shows that everything has its proper etiquette and order. You can help as much as you can afford. You help without putting yourself in a difficult situation. The ḥadīth here isn’t telling us to go help those in need by selling your house to pay off their bank loan, and then becoming homeless yourself. That’s not right. Everything has its proper etiquette and procedure. You help those in need as much as you can afford. You won’t be considered stingy. So don’t be afraid of being considered stingy.

6Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam has the most beautiful of everything. Regarding his ﷺ ḥadīths, in Arabic, our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says it in a rhyming way. The Turkish translation isn’t quite that rhyming, but our Prophet ﷺ says, “When you worship Allāh ﷻ, be sincere and perform your five daily prayers.” This is the first point, sincerity. “Worship Allāh ﷻ with sincerity. Perform your five daily prayers. Fast Ramadan. And give the zakāt from your wealth with a willing heart.” So don’t worry about it or be afraid that you will lose your money. Don’t think, “Oh, we have so much money.” If you have to give a lot, it means Allāh ﷻ has given you a lot in return. If you have given a hundred gold coins, it means that Allāh ﷻ has given five thousand gold coins. If you gave a hundred or two thousand gold coins, you must be happy that Allāh ﷻ has given you so much that you should give this. So you should give your zakāt with a heart full of contentment. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-

sallam said, “Perform Hajj to the House [of Allah] so that you may enter the Paradise of your Lord.”

7Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Protect your wealth with zakāt.” If you don’t give zakāt, all your wealth will be lost, may Allāh ﷻ protect us. Give zakāt to protect that wealth. “Treat your sick with sadaqah.” Sadaqah is the cure for the sick. It brings more healing than doctors. “Make du’ā’ against afflictions.” Make du’ā’ saying may Allāh ﷻ protect us against afflictions, so that trouble stays away from you.

8Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Protect your wealth with zakāt.” Zakāt is necessary for the protection of wealth. You will fulfill your obligation, protect your wealth, earn thawāb, and receive du’ā’s. “Treat your sick with sadaqah.” Everyone should pay daily Sadaqah, every day, so that they may receive protection from calamities and afflictions, and also receive healing. “Seek help through du’ā’ and begging to Allāh ﷻ to be able to bear calamities.” Make du’ā’ and beg to Allāh ﷻ so that calamities may stay away from you.

9Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Unless zakāt is paid on it, the dinar, gold, dirham, silver, and qirāt are treasures.” That is to say these are treasures means zakāt has not been paid on them.

10-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Zakāt is the bridge of Islām.” After the Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, many of the Arabs who were Muslims became apostates. Why? To avoid paying zakāt. Therefore, it truly is the bridge of Islām; those who do not pay it will not have entered Islām.

11-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “A wealth on which zakāt has been paid is not considered a treasure, even if it is buried underground. A wealth on which zakāt has not been paid is considered treasure, even if it is visible overground.” It is considered as if zakāt has not been paid.

12-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “A people who do not pay the zakāt of their wealth will surely have no rain falling upon them from the sky.” Therefore, the biggest problem now is the lack of rain everywhere in the world. They complain that it doesn’t rain and there is no water. “Indeed, if it weren’t for the animals, not a single

drop of rain would fall upon them.” So Allāh ﷻ takes pity on the animals and insects and sends rain. Otherwise, not a single drop would be given to them.

13-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “I was shown the first three people to enter Paradise and the first three people to enter Hell.” That is, these were shown to our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. “The first of the three to enter Paradise are martyrs,” those who are martyrs will be the first to enter Paradise. “A slave who perfected his worship of Allah, and was sincere to his masters.” Now there are no slaves. So, those who were slaves in the past, who worship Allāh ﷻ and serve their master, will enter the second Paradise in return for the suffering they endured in this world; they are the second type of people. “And the one who has a family, who is modest and honorable, and who is chaste.” The chaste one, that is, the one who patiently endures without begging from anyone, even though he has a family, is the third type of people to enter Paradise. “The first of the three to enter Hell are the tyrannical ruler (Opressive Sultan). The second is the one who has wealth but does not pay Allah’s due, the zakāt.” He who has wealth but does not pay zakāt, is also the second type of people who will enter Hell. “And the arrogant poor one.” Both poor and arrogant. He is in the third one.

Sadaqa RasuluLlah fi ma qal, aw kama qal. The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ says the truth in what he ﷺ said or as he ﷺ said.

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Ihda’ – Dedication:

Ziyadatan ila sharafi’ ‘n-Nabi, sallaLlahu `alayhi wa sallam wa Alihi wa Asahabihi l-kiram, wa ila arwahi jamee’i al Anbiya’i wa l-Mursalin wa Khudama’i sharai’ihim wa ila arwahi al ‘Aimmati al arba’a, wa ila arwahi Mashayyikhina fi tTariqati n-Naqshbandiyyati l-Aliyyah, khassatan Imamu t-Tariqah wa Ghawthu lKhaliqah Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi l-Bukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, wa sai’ri Sadatina wa s-Siddiqiyun, wa man nahnu fi hadratihim wa jiwarihim. To the souls of all the ones who’d passed away. For the souls of all Shaheeds. For goodness to come and evil to be gone. Li-Llahi Ta’ala, Al-Fatiha.

[(Translation) To the honor of the Prophet, Prayers and Peace be upon Him, and his family, and his companions, and the souls of all the prophets as well as of His messengers and of those who served their Sharia, and to the souls of the four Imams. And to the souls of our Mashayikh of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Tariqa, in particular to the soul of the Imam of the Tariqa Ghawth al-Khaliqa (the Help of Creation), Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi l-Bukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, and the rest of our masters and Siddiqiyun, and to whom we are in their presence and near them. To the souls of all the ones who’d passed away. For the souls of all Shaheeds. For goodness to come and evil to be gone. To Allah Almighty. Al Fatiha.]

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 14 January 2026/ 25 Rajab 1447 Beylerbeyi Dergah, Istanbul