The Importance of the Nabawi Definition of the Shari’i Dirham and Dinar

By Hisham Kassim (8 Shawwal – 1430 Hijri)

Surah al-Mutaffifeen 83:1-6 (Tafsir ibn ‘Abbas from http://www.altafsir.com):

وَيْلٌ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ

And from his narration on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah’s saying: (Woe unto the defrauders): (Woe) severe punishment (unto the defrauders) in weighing and measurement; this refers to the people of Madinah who used to cheat in weighing and measurement before the coming of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and so this surah was revealed to the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) on his way when he was migrating to Madinah:

ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ٱكْتَالُواْ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ

Allah then explained who these defrauders are, saying: (Those who when they take the measure from mankind) those who, when they buy from people and weigh or measure that which they buy for themselves, (demand it full) they weigh and measure their merchandise in full,

وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَوْ وَّزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ

(But if they measure unto them) but when they measure for others (or weigh for them, they cause them loss) they decrease the measurement or the weight and behave very badly; it is also said that the above means: severe punishment on that day is unto the defrauders in the prayer, the poor-due, fasting and other acts of worship.

أَلا يَظُنُّ أُوْلَـٰئِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مَّبْعُوثُونَ

(Do such (men)) those who deal in fraud in weight and measurement (not consider) not know and believe (that they will be raised again) brought back to life

لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(Unto an awful Day) the Day of Judgement whose horrors are great,

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلنَّاسُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ

(The day when (all) mankind stand) after emerging from the graves (before the Lord of the Worlds) the Lord of every living being who walks on the earth and the Lord of the dwellers of heaven.

When the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) read to them this surah, they repented and started giving full weight and measurement.

The Holy Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “Khilafat (Caliphate) would continue for 30 years after Nubuwwat (Prophethood) then it will change into kingship.” (Hadith related by Hakim)

It is clear from this Hadith that the most accurate weight and measurement for the Shari’i Silver Dirham and Gold Dinar were from these 40 years of Nubuwwat and Khilafat and that the surviving coinage from this era should be studied to ascertain the true Nisab for Zakat, the third pillar of Islam.

Any monetary “reforms” thereafter cannot be deemed as representative of the coinage of this golden era as they were undertaken for administrative rather than spiritual purposes, and thus do not comply with the original definition of the Shari’i Silver Dirham and Gold Dinar.

May Allah Almighty grant us victory in reinstating the Nabawi definition of the Shari’i Silver Dirham and Gold Dinar as they were really meant to be as per the golden era of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and the Rightly-guided Caliphate of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Uthman, ‘Ali and Hasan (radiyallahu ‘anhuma). Amiin…

The Shari’i Silver Dirham: The Shield of Zakat-ul-Fitr

The Shari’i Silver Dirham: The Shield of Zakat-ul-Fitr
By Hisham Kassim (5 Ramadan 1430 Hijri)

“The Holy Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) enjoined Zakat-ul-Fitr on the one who fasts to shield one’s self from any indecent act or speech, and for the purpose of providing food for the needy.” (Hadith related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and ad-Daraqutni)

Muslims worldwide are obliged to pay Zakat-ul-Fitr as alms at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It is unanimously recognized by all schools of Islamic Law as a pious duty of every Muslim man and woman, and a blessed way of following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).

The origin of this obligation can be dated to the month of Shaaban in 2 Hijri, and this mandatory giving of alms was personally carried out 9 times by the Holy Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) before he passed on in the month of Rabiulawwal in 11 Hijri.

The Shari’i Gold Dinar: The Forgotten Sunnah Within Zakat

The Shari’i Gold Dinar: The Forgotten Sunnah Within Zakat

By Hisham Kassim (16 Zulhijjah 1429 Hijri)

The second year of Hijrah (623/624 AD) bore witness to many key and historic events during the formative years of Islam. The Muslim community in Madinah was growing and it was the year when the change of the direction of prayer or Qiblah from Masjidil Aqsa in Baitul Maqdis to Masjidil Haram in Makkah was enforced during the month of Rajab. The introduction of the mandatory Ramadhan fast was decreed in the month of Sha’aban, and the first Tarawih prayer was held on the first night of the month of Ramadhan. Soon after, the number “313” was forever immortalized in Islamic history, signifying the number of heroic Muslims who were fighting to keep their religion alive in the decisive battle of Badr on 17 Ramadhan against a much larger and better equipped Kuffar army.

The Shari’i Silver Dirham: Seeking the Barakah of Allah

The Shari’i Silver Dirham: Seeking the Barakah of Allah

By Hisham Kassim (1 Safar 1430 Hijri)

“If the people of the towns had but believed and feared Allah, We should indeed have opened out to them (all kinds of) blessings from heaven and earth: but they rejected (the truth), and We brought them to book for their misdeeds.” (Surah al-A’raf 7:96)

All around the world today, people are looking forward with renewed hope to the tenure as President of the United States of America by a man with an uncommon name and family roots. While it is very true that Barack is Swahili for a term that means “blessing” in Arabic, we have yet to see whether the name fits the man who will determine the fate of over a million Muslims in Palestine who have long been laid siege to by the political and military might of the “free” world.