She Pays Zakat on Her Wealth

The Muslim women pay zakat on her wealth, if she is wealthy enough to be liable for zakat. Every year at a specified time, she calculates how much she owns and pays what she has to, because zakat is a pillar of Islam, and there can be no compromise or excuse when it comes to paying it every year, even if the amount comes to thousands or millions. It would never occur to the true Muslim woman to try to avoid paying some of the zakat that she is obliged to pay.

Zakat is a clearly-defined financial obligation and act of worship which Allah (SWT) has enjoined upon every Muslim, man or women, who owns the minimum amount (nisab) or more. Withholding zakat, or denying that it is obligatory, is tantamount to apostasy (riddah) and kufr, for which a person may be fought and even killed, until or unless he pays in full as required by Islam. The words of Abu Bakr (RAA) concerning the apostates who withheld their zakat echo down the centuries to us: "By Allah (SWT) I will fight whoever separates salat from zakat."53

These immortal words demonstrate the greatness of this religion, which made the connection between "religious" and "secular" affairs, and reveal Abu Bakr's deep understanding of the nature of this integrated, holistic way of life, which combines abstract beliefs with the practical application of their principles. Many ayat of the Qur'an confirm the interdependence of salat and zakat in the structure of faith:( . . .Those who establish regular prayer and regular charity . . .) (Qur'an 5:55) ( And be steadfast in prayer: practise regular charity.) (Qur'an 2:43) ( . . . [those who] . . . establish prayers and regular charity) (Qur'an 2:277)

It is clear to the true Muslim woman that Islam - although it has given her the right to financial independence, and has not obliged her to support herself or others, which is, rather, the duty of men - has indeed enjoined zakat on her, and has made zakat a right to which the poor are entitled. So the Muslim woman would not hesitate to pay it in the ways prescribed by shari'ah. She cannot claim to be excused because she is a woman and no woman is obliged to spend on others. Any woman who makes such a claim has a poor understanding of Islam, her faith is weak and there is some fault in her personality. Or else she is a woman who appears to be religious, but she is ignorant and negligent, or is stingy and loves money, and it would never occur to her to pay zakat even though she fasts, prays and performs Hajj, and occasionally gives a small charitable donation from her great wealth. These types of women - ignorant or stingy - are nothing like the true Muslim woman as envisaged by Islam.