Money That Mattered “the Prophet of Profit” Most

Zakat, paid during Ramadan, is said to earn Muslims 700 times more reward from Allah. In reality, it was Muhammad's ploy to fulfill his greed and strengthen his power.

It is Ramadan again, a month of Charity, of repentance and of 10 to 700 times rewards for every good deed for Muslims (Sahih Muslim). So, it is natural that Muslims get busy to grab those rewards during Ramadan.

There are many non-Muslim critics of Islam, who seek every opportunity to criticize and blame Islam. But they unanimously agree and appreciate the institution of ZAKAT in Islam, because it's a tradition of charity that benefits the poor (Muslims). This article will address the following questions:

* What caused Allah alias Muhammad to implement such ordinance about Zakat on his subjects?
* Whether Islam really deserves the credit?
* Who were the real beneficiaries of Zakat, while it was actually implemented?
* On whom the compulsory Zakat was imposed and implemented?
* What are its norms?
* Is there any chance for the Muslims to get those promised 700 time rewards?

Let us analyze these issues from Islamic sources itself.

Muhammad’s false Prophesy and the reality
Indonesia: Stampede during zakat distribution
Indonesia: Stampede during zakat during that
killed 23 people.

In a prophesy as recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari 2:492-495, Muhammad ordered Muslims to pay Zakat without fail in order to grab its rewards from Allah before it is too late, because there will no poor Muslims to take Zakat from the rich as Allah was soon going to make every Muslim well off economically.

It's not difficult to understand how was false this prophesy of Muhammad! The Islamic world, poorest in the world, are full zakat-takers and unfortunately the number of Zakat-taking Muslims are drastically increasing every year. Stampedes during the zakat distribution become very common. For the past 10 years, hundreds of poor Muslims have died and got injured around the World while rushing to take zakat (see, 1. Indonesia: 23 die in stampede in zakat distribution; 2. Mecca: 7 dead in stampede trying to receive Zakat; 3. Bangladesh: 9 dead in stampede while rushing to receive zakat). This reality is patently opposite to what Muhammad had dreamt in the above-mentioned prophesy.

The present form of Zakat is not the one that Muhammad had imposed on Muslims 1,400 years earlier. He openly said to his followers to give the specified amount of zakat from the booty, which he used to give to them from the spoils of his plundering raids. He spent the collected Zakat on purchasing new slaves (soldiers) for using on the war-front, for purchasing weapons, and he also used the zakat fund to bride non-Muslim males, who opposed to his cult, to join him. His idea of Zakat helped him and his successors to a great extent to expand their rule in the neighboring territories.

Reasons for the implementation of Zakat by Muhammad, the first king of Islam

Once studied the life and brutal character of Muhammad, it is easy to ascertain the purpose of his first marriage at the age of 25 with the elderly rich businesswoman Khadeeja, 15 years his senior, which was her third marriage. It is obvious that Muhammad’s greedy mission started with this marriage and continued till his death at 63. In order to fulfil his greed, he compromised the desires of his youth to remain content with the old woman Khadeeja. But as soon as Khadeeja died, leaving her wealth to Muhammad, he was on a mission compensated his earlier sexual compromises and fulfilled his lust by marrying Aisha, aged only 6, and many other young girls about the age of sweet 16, during his remaining years, age 52 to 63.

Khadeeja died when Muhammad was 50, some 10 years after his alleged prophethood. After failing utterly in his 10 year mission, to conquer the peninsula in peaceful manner, Muhammad determined to change his policy and decided to “buy the power” by utilizing Khadeeja’s wealth. Khadeeja’s death opened the gateway for him to succeed in his mission. It is still unclear the reasons of very “timely” death of Khadeeja, whether her death is a natural one or a case of murder. Muhammad stayed 3 years in Mecca after the death of Khadeeja and purchased slaves, weapons and horses to attack the Meccans. When Meccans were repulsed by his abuses of their Gods, he sought the help of his maternal uncles in Medina, and determined to loot the caravans of Meccans with the help of his handful of gangster followers, whom he purchased or who had joined him, he took refuge there. After some of his successful piratical raids and the cruel way of murdering his Meccan kinfolks, Muhammad emerged as the Boss of a criminal Mafia group o Muslims. Through mass-murders and threats, he now had a complete hold on the scared Medinans, who had offered him asylum. With Medina within his clasp, Muhammad then wanted to expand his territory by strengthening his military power. And for that, he needed money. And collecting Zakat was the way to go.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 1:24: Muhammad said, “People can save their lives and property from me, if they pay the compulsory zakat.”

Muhammad appointed his official representatives to collect Zakat.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:482: Muhammad said, “Pay Zakat to the appointed representatives by me and pay 1/5th of the booty to (Allah) me.”

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:576: Muhammad appointed a man by name Al-Lutbiya to collect Zakat exclusively from Bani Sulaim and checked the account with him personally.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:576: Muhammad and his successors appointed the official Zakat collectors and “trained” them with its norms.

Muhammad's shameful means of collecting Zakat from women

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:511, 524, 541:- Muhammad said, “Women! I have shown that the majority of the dwellers of Hell are women. So, give alms even from your ornaments to protect yourselves from Hell fire”. So they started giving their fore-arm bangles, ear-rings and necklaces.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:486: Muhammad said, “A bald headed poisonous male-snake with two black spot over the eyes will circle the neck and bite the cheeks of the Muslim, whoever doesn’t pay the Zakat."

Muhammad didn’t spare even the poor shepherds from paying zakat. He imposed Zakat on the owners of Camels, cows and sheep too. He received animals as Zakat, according to their numbers. Muhammad didn’t accept the male-animals as Zakat. They should give him only the She-animals, so that Muhammad could milk them and breed them into multiples. Muhammad used to brand those animals, which came into his account through zakat, with heated iron-rods on their back.

SAHIH AL BUKHARI 2:439, 485: Muhammad said, “Whoever had camels or cows or sheep and didn’t pay their Zakat, will be given punishment by Allah, with the same animals, on the Day of Resurrection”.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:534, 539: Muhammad, the first Sultan of Islam and his successors imposed Zakat on the owners of camels, cows and sheep.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:535: Abu Bakr said, “Allah ordered Muhammad not to accept male goat as Zakat!”

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:578: Muhammad branded an identification mark on the Zakat camels, which he received, with heated iron rods.

Muhammad imposed 1/10th as Zakat on the yields of agricultural land and 1/5th as Zakat on buried wealth from the pre-Islamic period.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:560: Muhammad said, “1/10th Zakat is compulsory on the yield of the agriculture land.”

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:575: Muhammad said, “1/5th Zakat is compulsory on buried wealth from the pre-Islamic period.”

Exemption from Zakat

Muhammad exempted horses and slaves (a kind of animal in Islam) from Zakat. It is because both were the very essential “things” in the battle-field. So, he spared the owners of horses and slaves for his own cause. He also kept women exempted from Zakat, similar to horses and slaves (i.e., he didn't collect women as zakat like he collected camels). With this, he satisfied his male-followers, who used to own many women as wives and slaves.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:542: Muhammad said, “No Zakat is applicable, either on a horse or a slave belonging to a Muslim.”

Earlier and later economical status of Muhammad’s Companions

Some of Muhammad’s clever companions refuse to pay the ordained Zakat. On that, Muhammad felt that he has the rights to force them to pay a fraction of amount, which he has given to them by looting the Jews, Christians and pagans of the neighboring settlements. Muhammad was correct. Because, it was he, who made them rich, albeit at the cost and risk of their lives. Many hadiths reveals impoverished economic situations of his bandit companions prior to joining him and in the early days of Islam, but they became very rich and lived sophisticated, luxurious life during later years.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:547: On Jameels refusal of paying Zakat, Muhammad said, “What made Ibn Jameel refuse to give Zakat, though he was a poor man, and was made wealthy by Allah and me?”

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:497: Narrated Abu Masood, “In the beginning of Islam, we worked hard and gave little grains as charity. Those were the days of poverty, and today some of us have one hundred thousand.”

SAHIH AL BUKHARI 2:323: Narrated Saad, “I was one of the 7, who had embraced Islam with Muhammad, and we had nothing to eat then, except the leaves of the Habula tree, so that our stool used to be similar to that of sheep.”

How Muhammad spent the enormous wealth which he obtained from Zakat?

1. Muhammad purchased a number of slaves (to be engaged in his piratical attacks). (Quran 9:60)
2. Muhammad intentionally bribed the Zakat amount to the rebellious non-Muslims, who hated him severely, to draw their hearts closer to his cult, and succeeded in his mission. (SAHIH MUSLIM 2:752, 4:1806)
3. He refused to help those, who are Muslims for the namesake, i.e. those, who refused to go with him for jihad. (Fath Al-Bari 3:399)
4. He paid salaries from the Zakat wealth to those, who collect alms. (Quran 9:60)

Continuation of desert piracy after Muhammad’s death

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:534/539: After the death of Muhammad, Bedouins of the desert felt liberated from the tyranny and oppression of the desert-pirate leader, Muhammad. But their joyful days were limited. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam, brought them into subjugation again through heavy bloodbath (Battle of Ridda or Apostasy). Islamic tyranny continued forever.

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 2:536: During his regime, Abu Bakr said, “If the Muslims stop paying the She-Kid along with their Zakat as they were paid to Muhammad, I will fight with them for it.”

On that Omer said, “It was nothing but Allah, who opened Abu Bakr’s chest to fight the Muslims (on She-Kid business).”

CONCLUSION: If the above-mentioned Quranic verses and Hadiths are the basis of Zakat, then how come Muslims dream about the 700 times reward from their Allah, alias Muhammad. From the above hadiths, it is crystal clear that it was only Muhammad, who had profited 700 times through zakat.