Nawazil al-Zakat
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- Editions
- Dar Al-Mayman li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi'
Nawazil al-Zakat: Dirasah Fiqhiyyah Ta'siliyyah li-Mustajaddat al-Zakat (Contemporary Issues of Zakat: A Foundational Juristic Study of Novel Developments in Zakat) is a contemporary legal treatise by the Saudi jurist Abdullah bin Mansur al-Ghufayli examining the jurisprudence of newly arisen financial issues and modern applications of zakat .
Background and Academic Origins
The book originated as a doctoral dissertation submitted to the College of Sharia in Riyadh at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University under the supervision of Salih bin Uthman al-Hulayyil . The dissertation was defended on 20 Jumada al-Ula 1428 AH before an examination committee comprising the supervisor Salih al-Hulayyil alongside examiners Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Tayyar and Musa'id bin Qasim al-Falih, who recommended awarding the doctorate with First Class Honors . The author undertook the study to consolidate modern rulings regarding evolving financial transactions and material developments, focusing on juristic grounding (taʾṣīl fiqhī) rather than lengthy minor details .
Structure and Scope
The work is organized into an introduction, a preliminary overview (tamhīd), five primary chapters, and a conclusion :
- Preliminary Overview: Defines nawāzil (novel juristic cases) and their criteria, reviews related terminology, analyzes how novel cases impact legal reasoning (ijtihād), and outlines the definition, status, and legal objectives (maqāṣid) of zakat .
- Chapter One (Conditions of Zakat): Treats contemporary questions regarding the minimum threshold (niṣāb), including the impact of deferred investment and housing debts, currency inflation, and calculating the annual holding period (ḥawl) using the solar calendar .
- Chapter Two (Zakatable Assets): Comprises sixteen sections addressing contemporary forms of wealth, including modern standards for agricultural produce and livestock; factories and raw materials; paper banknotes; checking accounts; corporate shares and multinational corporations; bonds; investment funds; public state-owned property; commercial, cooperative, and social insurance funds; end-of-service gratuities; monthly salaries; intellectual and moral rights; lease-to-own arrangements (ijārah muntahiyah bi-t-tamlīk); manufacturing contracts (istiṣnāʿ); and the deduction of government taxes from zakat .
- Chapter Three (Disbursement Categories): Explores modern applications across the eight Quranic avenues of zakat distribution, evaluating poverty standards, digging wells or constructing houses for the impoverished, financing students or workers abroad, and disbursing funds under the category of fī sabīl Allāh .
- Chapter Four (Investment of Zakat Funds): Addresses the legality of investing zakat funds by the asset owner, an appointed agent, or the ruler; the administrative costs of such investment; and the zakat liability on invested zakat capital .
- Chapter Five (Zakat al-Fitr): Covers modern issues relating to the end-of-Ramadan charity, including delegating charitable societies and Islamic centers to distribute it, paying its monetary equivalent (al-qīmah), transferring it to distant countries, and charitable institutions disbursing anticipated amounts before collecting them .
Methodology
In evaluating each case, al-Ghufayli first conceptualizes the issue (taṣwīr al-masʾalah) before addressing its ruling . For issues subject to consensus, he presents the ruling with evidence and cites standard reference works . For contested matters, he defines the exact point of dispute, presents the divergent legal opinions according to their major trends, confines the classical legal schools to the four recognized Sunni madhhabs alongside the transmitted views of the early generations (al-salaf), resorts to juristic extrapolation (takhrīj) when explicit textual rulings within a school are absent, and evaluates the arguments to determine the preferred ruling (tarjīḥ) .
Publication
The work was published in Riyadh by Dar al-Mayman in 1429 AH (2008 CE) . An edition was also printed under the auspices of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Doha, Qatar, in 1430 AH (2009 CE) .
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