(216) Chapter: The Excellence and Obligation of the Payment of Zakat

Jarir bin 'Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I pledged allegiance to the Prophet (ﷺ) to establish Salat, to pay the Zakat and to have the welfare of every Muslim at heart. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Commentary: This Hadith has already been mentioned and has been repeated here for its relevance to this chapter. Here the phrase "To pledge allegiance to establish Salat'' and "to pay the Zakat'' means acceptance of Islam becausethese are such important articles of Islam that one cannot think of Islam without them. Allegiance to them is, in other words, allegiance to Islam. It is a pledge which was taken by the Prophet (PBUH) from everyone who embraced Islam. He would also take a pledge for Jihad when there was a need for it. The third pledge is pledge of Khalifah which was taken by Khulafa Ar-Rashidun (the rightly-guided caliphs) and subsequently the Muslim rulers. These are the three pledges which are proved from the rightly-guided Muslims. The oath accepted by mystics and spiritual guides is an innovation of the later times - much after the Khair-ul-Qurun, that is the first three generations of Muslims.