Who Are the Thieves among the Arabs Today: The Rikaz (Ore) Zakat Ignored Deliberately by the Thieves

Was published in Arabic in November1, 2015

Translated by Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

 The word ''Rikaz'' in Arabic means (ore); the raw material of minerals, coal, metals, oil, precious stones…etc. extricated from lands created by God and used by humankind: such as oil, gold, iron, petroleum oil, etc. the Sunnites scholars of the past have fabricated a hadith (saying) ascribed falsely to Prophet Muhammad with the intention that the zakat (alms) of the ores are one fifth of them or of their revenues or monetary value. We, Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour, say now instead: Where is the zakat money of oil profits, thieves?!

Firstly: falsehoods and lies of Rikaz zakat in the Sunnite fabricated creed

1- The judge Abou Yusuf in his book titled "Tax Collection" that one fifth of all ores of metal, or their values in money, is to be given to the caliph or the State (Caliphate) as spoils not as zakat! The ore metals he specifies are gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead. Other base metals are not included, in his opinion, as they are akin to dust and mud! As for any treasures found by a man, he will receive 4/5 of it and the remaining fifth goes to the caliph or the State.

2- As usual among scholars and imams of Sunnite theology, differences in opinions are countless in all issues, and Rikaz zakat is no exception. Their views vary in deciding base and precious metals and the difference between found things that belong to unknown people and treasures. They never tackled oil and coal; they have not been discovered yet, of course.

3- To amuse our readers, let us quote some of the Sunnite falsehoods and fabrications about Rikaz zakat:

3/1: In books of Al-Bokhary, we quote the following passage: (…Rikaz is one-fifth of metals or their value in money, whether the metal is little or much in its amount, as purportedly said by the Prophet, caliph Omar Ibn Abdul-Aziz said it is five dirhams in every two hundreds, and one-fifth of spoils if metals are found in the lands of enemies. Fifth of the found precious things in the land of enemies are to be given to the State, and this fifth is considered zakat given to the State if found in the lands at home. In some cases, if revenues are little, one might skip the fifth and give nothing at all…etc.)

3/2: Abou Hurayrah said that (…the Prophet said that the fifth of profits of metals, water wells, and beasts is to be given out as zakat, even if the beasts or metals had some faults. If one damages such possessions, metals, or harm beasts of someone else, the wrongdoer is to pay for it in money, at least one fifth of its value. This is overruled if the fault is found in the owner who did not tie his beasts with ropes…etc.)

4- As usually the case with Salafi/Wahabi imams and scholars, they reiterated all contents of ancient books and tomes with more recapitulation, more summarization, more details and distortions, and more falsehoods. Let us amuse our readers with some of their fabrications:

4/1: Sheikh Bassam writes in his book titled "Fulfillment of Desires": (…Rikaz are precious stones, metals, possessions found as treasures, especially related to people in the pre-Islamic era, like treasures of precious metals formed in idols and pictures and names of kings with pagan arts and heathen names on it. Any such treasures found are to be kept by its founder(s), as ordained before by caliphs like Omar and Ali. In some cases, one fifth of it is given as zakat, despite the fact that treasures are sometimes found without intentions or endeavors, or even working to find them, as treasures have no quorum to it as possessions belonging to someone. Yet, one can pay zakat of Rikaz once treasures or metals or precious stones are found, as one does not have to wait for one year to pass as the case with one's possessions  and if it is not money, be it metals like iron or lead. If such treasures or ores are found, however, by a non-Muslim in the lands of Islam, he has to pay one fifth of it to the State to be spent in the welfare of Muslims without waiting for a year to pass as the case with annual zakat or tithes. If treasures or metals are found in lands with no owners, as the case in ruins of the ancients, one fifth of it goes to the State even if someone comes along to claim himself as the property of the land …etc.).

4/2: The fatwa (the so-called religious edict or view) of the Sunnite scholar Ibn Otheimein concerning Rikaz zakat: (…Rikaz in Arabic means metals like gold or silver coming from the lands. In the Iraqi dialect, Rikaz includes all metals, whereas people of the Hejaz region consider Rikaz as all treasures found related to the pre-Islamic era, while metals ores are not included. Yet, Rikaz now means whatever materials of value found in the earth. Scholars differ in their views of Rikaz; those of the doctrines of Malik, Shafei, and Ibn Hanbal have written that Rikaz are treasures of the ancients of pre-Islamic era found in their ruins and catacombs. Some other scholars assert that Rikaz is all metals extricated and excavated from the surface of the earth. Abou Haneefa said that it is all buried treasures in the pre-Islamic era as well as all metal ores/veins/raw materials found in all geological environments. Its zakat is one fifth after being purified and refined. Al-Shafei said its zakat is the one quarter of the tenth of its revenues. If such treasures are found in lands of Islam, it requires no zakat and its founder can have it all to himself, if such treasures have no owner. Non-Muslims and Muslims alike, even if they are young or old, sane or mad, have to pay fifth of the treasure to the State once found, without waiting for one year to pass as the case with annual zakat, as the case with the spoils of battles. Yet, some scholars assert that all treasures are owned by the State as it owns thee lands…etc.).

 We have quoted enough from such scandalous falsehoods and fabrications.

5- Today's imams and scholars of the Wahabi creed, which has nothing whatsoever to do with real Islam: the Quran, never tackled the issue of oil revenues and Rikaz zakat stipulated by their ancestors to be collected from all treasures found in the earth. They have intentionally ignored the Rikaz zakat from metals and coal and other sources of energy. The only reason for this state of affairs is clear to us: their fear of Al-Saud, the KSA royal family, and their likes of monarchs and royal families of the Gulf States. Such scholars and imams and clergymen are slaves to money of the tyrants that control them all to justify their tyranny with a cover of religiosity and false fatwas. If such clergymen say for once a view opposed to such monarchs, they will be severely deprived or punished.

Secondly: The Quranic view on the issue of Rikaz zakat:

 We start with basic Quranic facts:

1- All natural (non)renewable resources are owned by God, who has made humankind deputies on earth to make good use of its resources. This is done without discrimination among all people in making use of all resources. God says about such resources since the creation of the earth: "He placed stabilizers over it; and blessed it; and planned its provisions in four days, equally to the seekers." (41:10). Here, the word ''equally'' means equality for all humanity to benefit from all resources, while ''seekers'' shows clearly that this benefit are for those working ardently to make good use of resources: this is equality along with equal opportunity. Money as well is owned by God, and money is entrusted by God to humankind: "Believe in God and His Messenger, and spend from what He made you inherit. Those among you who believe and give will have a great reward." (57:7).

2-  Islamic society owns all wealth in its country, given to this society by God to make good use of it for the welfare of people within a given nation. Such property might be given to individuals/citizens who can care for it and use it for the welfare of people. If this does not materialize, the State ought to confiscate such property and give its owner who misused it the revenues of investing it.

3- We have written in the Marxist newspaper "Al-Ahaly" in Egypt dated January 6^th 1999 during Ramadan an article titled "A Reading of the Quran We Have Rejected: Wealth Is Owned by Society". We have written about the verse "Do not give the immature your money which God has assigned to you for support. But provide for them from it, and clothe them, and speak to them with kind words. "(4:5) the following: (…Scholars of fiqh think that this verse is confined to the wealthy orphans, as per Egyptian law today, the orphans' properties are confiscated by caretakers until the orphans come of age. Middle-Ages scholars ignored, on purpose or due to their ignorance, the political point of view in this verse. They might have feared tyrant caliphs of their times. They lived in an age when all lands and properties were owned by caliphs who even owned people living in the caliphate. This vein is found in all stories about caliphs of the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Ottomans. Such falsehoods still reside on the minds of those who dream of reviving the caliphate in modern times of dearth and poverty. The implied meaning intentionally ignored of this verse is that frankly, the nation or citizens own the wealth of a given country and the ones entrusted to care for it and making better use of it. Every individual has the right to own wealth within family inheritance, if such an individual is able to make good use of such a wealth. If not, or if such an individual is young, inexperienced, or extravagant, the State is to care for this wealth until the person comes of age; meanwhile, this individual is to spend from the profit of such wealth in his life. The political bent in this verse is that since property is owned by people, any ruler is entrusted with it to manage it in ways that are beneficial to the nations and citizens. It is the duty of the nation not to leave any ruler misuses its wealth in any country by his whims and caprices in an extravagant manner. Otherwise, the silent citizens who witness such extravagance or misuse are denying and ignoring the divine command in the Quran when not resisting such misuse and abuse of wealth given to them by God. Countless historical accounts assert that injustice by people of authority and in power that leads to monopoly of wealth and resources leads as well to revolts, revolutions, and bloodshed. Examples include the revolts of Qarmatians, Al-Khawarij, Zanj Rebellion, to name but a few, and in modern history of all revolutions in France, Russia, etc. some Arab countries have witnessed recent revolts for bread. We have to return to the basic notion of the nation's full right to own all wealth in given country, whereas the role of governments is to manage such wealth wisely on the basis of justice, integrity, transparency, and accountability. A nation should hold responsible accountable for their actions by laws and legislations. Each citizen who works hard must be rewarded equal to their endeavors in managing and caring for such national wealth within legal means. Every crippled/ ailed person must find care from the government, as they are part of owners of wealth in a given country. A balance should be drawn between justice and liberty, away from the ambitions of those dreamers of the revival of the so-called caliphate, which will be always linked to grave injustices and tyranny…).

Lastly:

1- Who are the extravagant among the Arabs of todays?

2- Is this message driven home to the Arab nations in and out of the Gulf Region?