Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:4

The Linguistic Analysis of Zakat

Zakat is a term shared between a physical object (‘ayn) and an abstract concept (ma‘na).

• The Physical Object (‘ayn): The specific portion that the payer (muzakki) extracts from the taxable threshold (nisab) to give to the poor.
• The Abstract Concept (ma‘na): This refers to the act of purification (tazkiyah). This is what God intended, as He made the payers (muzakkin) the agents (fa‘ilin) of this act. No other interpretation is valid here, because every verbal noun (masdar) expresses its meaning through an action, and its performer is called an agent (fa‘il). You say of the striker: "agent of the striking," of the killer: "agent of the killing," and of the payer: "agent of the purification."

Based on this logic and its verification, you ask regarding all occurrences: "Who is the agent of this?" and it is said to you: "Its agent is God or some of His creation." It is not impossible for the Zakat (referring to the physical object) to have agents associated with it, as it is something an agent can handle; rather, the impossibility lies in the fact that created beings are not the creators of the object itself.

Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt recited:

They are the feeders of food in the year of drought, And the agents of the Zakat.

It is also permissible that Zakat refers to the physical object, with an implied omitted noun—namely, "the performance" (al-ada’). Interpreting the verse in this way is more accurate, as the Zakat is collected in that context.