people when the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” Once they say this, they protect their lives and property from me, except by due right, [and their reckoning is with Allah]’ (1)?”

Abū Bakr said:
“Did he not say, ‘except by due right’? Zakat is among its due rights. By Allah, if they withheld from me even a young female goat that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—I would fight them for withholding it.”

Umar said:
“By Allah, as soon as I saw that Allah had opened Abū Bakr’s heart to fighting, I knew that it was right.” (2)

Umar based his argument on what had reached him or what he had heard (3) from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Al-Siddīq explained to him that the words “by due right” include zakat, for both are a due owed on wealth.

In the two Sahīh collections, Ibn Umar reports that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: (4) ‘There is no god but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah,’ establish prayer, and pay zakat. Once they do so, they protect their lives and property from me, except by due right.” (5)

This second wording spoken by the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—demonstrates Abū Bakr’s sound understanding. It explicitly supports fighting to secure the payment of zakat and accords with the Quran.

The Most High said:

“Then kill the polytheists wherever you find them, capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent, establish prayer, and pay zakat, then let them go on their way.”