9:60
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاء وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
Innama alssadaqatu lilfuqarai waalmasakeeni waalAAamileena AAalayha waalmuallafati quloobuhum wafee alrriqabi waalgharimeena wafee sabeeli Allahi waibni alssabeeli fareedatan mina Allahi waAllahu AAaleemun hakeemun
The charity is due for non other than the poor and the destitute and the working on it and the ones whose hearts are being reconciled and the captives and the bound and in Allah’s path and the stranded traveler. An obligation from Allah and Allah is knowing, wise.
This is a very important Aya and because it ends with the term obligation, it is understood as the groups of people or causes that can benefit from the obligatory charity of the Muslims or what Muslims call Zakat.
The Aya uses idiomatic language and each term may cover one or more groups. The two terms of Fuqara and masakeen are two terms that overlap and point to poverty. However, linguistically the Faqeer is a person who cannot cover his needs while the Masakeen are people who are also poor but have very little resources, including that they lost some dignity and so on. The “working on it” is for the collectors of that money. The “ones whose hearts are being reconciled” is a wide category and may cover at times the spending for public relations towards non muslims or protection from them in case of vulnerabilities but also muslims who are recent converts and who may have lost some money in the process and so on.
The term “Captives” covers anyone who is a captive either as a prisoner of war and so on, but very importantly and historically, it was used for any slave who wanted to buy his or her freedom and that group was the main recipient of that money.
The bound are those who may be burdened with debt or who were hit by an affliction that affected their income such as farmers dealing with Drought or flood or any natural disaster. “in Allah’s path”is used for any effort to propagate the message and therefore can be used for schools and Islamic institutions and civil rights organizations and so on. The last group is the stranded traveler is understood in general as one who needs funds to help him or her to go home.
Translation of the transliterated words:
Innama: none other than
Alssadaqatu: the charity/ the obligatory charity
Note: the root is Sad-D-Qaf and it means truth in word or deed as a concept. When it is in deed, it takes the shape of any act of truthfulness including charity, in a sense the deed proves the truthfulness of the heart and the word. ALSSADAQATU here means the charities and in this context, the obligatory charities.
Lilfuqarai: to the poor/ belong to the poor/ designated to the poor/ the needy
Note: LI means to or belong to or should be designated to. ALFUQARAI is derived from the root F-Qaf-R and it means being in need or need. It is the word used for poverty. ALFUQARAI are the poor or who are not able to meet their needs.
Waalmasakeeni: and the vulnerable/ weak/ the resource-less/ the humbled
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. ALMASAKEEN is derived from the root S-K-N and it means Ashes which is the product of the end of the fire. The conceptual meaning has many forms and it means rest or lack of movement, but it also means the lack of energy or running out of energy. In this context this it points to those who lack the ability to maneuver around their situation for one reason or another.
waalAAamileena: and the workers
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. ALAAaMILEENA is derived from the root Ain-M-L and it means doing or work. ALAAaMILEENA are the workers.
AAalayha: on it/ upon it.
Waalmuallafati: and the brought to liking/ and the brought to affection/ and brought to familiarity/ brought to reconciliation
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. ALMUALLAFATI is derived from the root Hamza-L-F and it means thousand as a number. It also is used to mean repeated exposure to an entity which leads to familiarity and affection/friendship. ALMUALLAFATI are the ones who are brought to liking/ affection/ familiarity
Quloobuhum: : their hearts/ hearts and minds/ and their insides
Note: The root is Qaf-L-B and it means turning 180 degrees or upside down. The word is used for heart, because it is the organ that changes it’s moods often. Therefore QALB is our thoughts and emotions or what is inside us. QULOOBU are hearts and minds of or thoughts and emotions of. HUM means them.
Wafee: and in
Alrriqabi: the necks/ the captives/ and the freeing of slaves
Note: the root is R-Qaf-B and it means neck for the concrete. The abstract is used to mean surveillance because the neck is an organ of surveillance. It is also used to mean control because the neck is an organ when controlled, the whole body follows. In this context it takes the meaning of watching. ALRRIQABI here are the ones who are captive or constantly under surveillance.
Waalgharimeena: and the bound
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. ALGHARIMEEN is derived from the root Ghain-R-M and it means something that is very bound to another and conceptually can be associated with strong love, debt and guilt and anything that sticks to the person and would not let go. Here, in this context, it points to people bound by debt or any obligation or situation that is crippling and they are unable to get out of it on their own.
Wafee: and in/ on
Sabeeli: path of
Note: the root is S-B-L and it means and it means flowing water from the falling rain from the sky to the flowing water in the river and so forth. This is the concrete and the other uses are related as in path, which allows the flow, to soft flowing hair and so forth. SABEELI is the flowing water or the path of. It takes the meaning of path or even the trip on the path.
Allahi: Allah
Waibni: and son of
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA is often translated as an addition (and), but inclusion probably covers the meaning a little better. IBN is derived from the root B-N-Y and it means building and it also mean son or child or offspring. The relationship between the two meanings is that the son is the product of building the family. Here, it is used to mean child or son. IBNI means son of.
Alssabeeli: the path
Note: the root is S-B-L and it means and it means flowing water from the falling rain from the sky to the flowing water in the river and so forth. This is the concrete and the other uses are related as in path, which allows the flow, to soft flowing hair and so forth. ALSSABEELI means the path. In this context, ibn ALSSABEEL is the person stranded in a land away from his usual support system.
Fareedatan: obligation
Note: the root is F-R-Dhad and it means obligation or obligatory. FAREEDATAN means obligation.
Mina: from
Allahi: Allah
waAllahu: and Allah
AAaleemun : knowledgeable/ knowing
Note: the root is Ain-L-M and it means knowing/knowledge or knowledge of facts. AAaLEEM is the one that is very knowledgeable
Note: the root Ha-K-M and it means the steer that steers the animal. This word is used for ruling and judging as well as other meanings that contain steering as part of the concept. HAKEEM means wise or the steering. The steering means the entity that steers in the best way
Hussein
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