Throughout history the believers oscillated between unorganized Obligatory Charity and organized Obligatory Charity:
- Unorganized Obligatory Charity happened during the time of Adam, Idris, Noah, Hud, Saleh, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus.
- Organized Obligatory Charity happened during the time of Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, the Disciples of Jesus after Jesus, Muhammad.
But why did these two groups of messengers do their Obligatory Charities differently?
It all has to do with their circumstances in which they preached:
First circumstance: If they happened to live within a disbelieving community where an insufficient number (less than 20) independent strong men believed them, then they did not manage to create a separate independent community of believers.
Second circumstance: If more than 20 strong believers supported them, according to the Quran, that was sufficient grounds for them to separate themselves from the community of disbelievers and have their own separate community of believers.
And because this second group managed to have a separate community of believers which was independent from the disbelievers, that automatically meant that they had their own established rulers of the community (4:59). And when believing rulers are established, the Quran obliges them to establish (enforce) the Obligatory Charity (22:41). And then because it is enforced by the rulers, it becomes more efficient to do it in an organized way, for efficiency purposes, and to avoid chaos, and help distribute the charity better where it is needed (9:58-60).
Now, since the time of Muhammad, when Muhammad re-established organized Obligatory Charity when he moved to Medina, we have clear historical evidence that the Obligatory Charity continued to be organized by the rulers of those communities, who were called “Caliphs”. The Caliphs enforced the Organized Obligatory Charity throughout the Muslim World during the Rashidun Caliphates (632AD-661AD), the Umayyad Caliphates (661AD-750AD), Abbasid Caliphates (750AD-1258AD), Fatimid Caliphates (909AD-1171AD), Mamluk-Abbasid Caliphates (1261AD-1517AD), and finally the Ottoman Caliphates (1517AD-1924AD). Then the last Ottoman Caliph, Abdulmecid II, was dethroned (defeated) by the democratic/secular government of Turkey lead by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This ended the enforced worldwide Organized Obligatory Charity in the Muslim Word. And it actually made sense, because the believers of the world once again became mixed with disbelieving communities within democracies, just like in the cases of the first group of messengers mentioned at the beginning. And this was the correct way to do the Obligatory Charity in democracies from 1924 until the 2020s. Then in the 2020s internet and all its monetary payment features were adopted worldwide, making it once again possible for the believers to have their separate community which is independent from disbelievers, while still continuing to live within democracies. And this again made it mandatory for the believers to organize their charity. So, the submitters today organize their Obligatory Charity because internet has enabled them to have an online community of believers which is independent enough from the communities of disbelievers.
If you want to be part of our online community and give your Obligatory Charity with us, please visit this page : I want to join
Learn more about the Obligatory Charity:
What is the Obligatory Charity?
The details of the Obligatory Charity (Zakat in Arabic)
The principle of Penalty Zakat
Atonement for Mixed Deeds Through Penalty Zakat
Does Zakat Come From Wealth or From Income?
Zakat Distribution Arrangement