“Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship).” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Taberî, zakat is an obligatory act of worship that purifies both bodies and wealth, which must be given to those whom Allah has granted rights from His wealth (those entitled to it). Prayer and zakat are mentioned as 'two obligations,' and there is no dispensation for anyone regarding them; they must be performed for Allah. Furthermore, by examining the root meaning of the word zakat, it is explained that it is based on the meanings of multiplication/increase of wealth and purification.
فهما فريضتان واجبتان، لا رخصة لأحد فيهما، فأدوهما إلى الله تعالى ذكره
Zemahşerî12. c.✓ Citation verified
The text indicates that the examined section is connected through a grammatical construction (ma'tûf) to a preceding element; however, since the provided text is extremely brief and incomplete, it is unclear to which verse element Zemahşerî makes this attribution or what meaning he derives from it.
معطوف على
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the verse contains several interpretations regarding the special mention of the word ruku': because the Jews had no ruku' in their prayer, this word was specifically mentioned to encourage them toward Muslim prayer; or it means 'pray with those who pray'; or the word ruku' is synonymous in language with khushû' (reverence) and is a command for humility and a prohibition against arrogance. Furthermore, the view that the verse was revealed regarding a specific person is also transmitted; in this context, reports are conveyed that it was revealed regarding Abu Bakr or Ali, particularly the incident of Ali giving away his ring as charity while in ruku'.
أحدها : أن اليهود لا ركوع في صلاتهم فخص الله الركوع بالذكر تحريضا لهم على الإتيان بصلاة المسلمين ، وثانيها : أن المراد صلوا مع المصلين ، وعلى هذا يزول التكرار لأن في الأول أمر تعالى بإقانتها وأمر في الثاني بفعلها في الجماعة
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî, transmitting from Ibn Atiyya, conveys that the zakat of the Children of Israel was a special practice related to fire that showed whether the wealth they gave was accepted or not, and that this was different from the zakat of the Muslim community; however, he notes that this view should be based on transmission. He also transmits from Ibn Abbas the report that zakat here means obedience to Allah and sincerity. The text also elaborates in detail on the linguistic origin of zakat (nemâ/increase, purification, good praise) and conveys the disagreement regarding whether zakat here refers to obligatory zakat or the zakat al-fitr (charity of breaking the fast).
وزكاتهم هي التي كانوا يضعونها فتنزل النار على ما يتقبل ولا تنزل على ما لم يتقبل ولم تكن كزكاة أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم قلت وهذا يحتاج إلى نقل كما ثبت ذلك في الغنائم وقد روي عن بن عباس إنه قال : الزكاة التي امروا بها طاعة الله والإخلاص
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Ibn Kesîr, the command of prayer and zakat mentioned in this verse orders the People of the Book to pray together with the Prophet, to give zakat to him, and to perform ruku' together with those from the Muslim community who perform ruku'. Furthermore, the exegete transmits that zakat is interpreted as obedience to Allah and sincerity, that its minimum amount is two hundred and above, that some scholars also understood it as zakat al-fitr, and that most scholars considered this verse as evidence for the obligation of congregational prayer.
وقد استدل كثير من العلماء بهذه الآية على وجوب الجماعة
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Beydâvî indicates in this verse that prayer and zakat should be understood as the prayer and zakat of Muslims, and that the prayers and zakat of other religions are not considered true prayer and zakat. He also explains that the phrase 'perform ruku' with those who perform ruku'' points to congregational prayer, that congregational prayer is twenty-seven degrees superior to solitary prayer, and that the expression of prayer by the word 'ruku'' is to distinguish it from Jewish prayer.
واركعوا مع الراكعين أي في جماعتهم، فإن صلاة الجماعة تفضل صلاة الفذ بسبع وعشرين درجة لما فيها من تظاهر النفوس، وعبر عن الصلاة بالركوع احترازا عن صلاة اليهود.
Comparison
Common ground
Taberî, Kurtubî, Ibn Kesîr, and Beydâvî agree on the linguistic origin of zakat (nemâ/increase and purification meanings); Ibn Kesîr and Beydâvî further share the view that the command of prayer and zakat is specific to the Muslim community, and that the term ruku' refers to congregational prayer or distinction from Jewish worship. Râzî and Ibn Kesîr share the view that the word ruku' specifically points to the absence of ruku' in Jewish prayer. Kurtubî and Ibn Kesîr jointly transmit the report from Ibn Abbas that zakat means obedience to Allah and sincerity. Generally, transmission (from companions and followers) and linguistic/rhetorical analysis are used together.
Differences
While Taberî approaches zakat primarily as an obligatory act of worship and within the framework of linguistic root analysis, Kurtubî makes a historical/interfaith distinction between the zakat of the Children of Israel and that of the Muslim community and elaborates on jurisprudential disagreements (whether obligatory zakat or zakat al-fitr). Râzî reads the matter more through the lens of a rhetorical problem (the repetition of ruku'-khushû') and reports about reasons for revelation (such as the controversial Shia-Sunni tradition of Ali's ring story); this does not stand out as prominently in the others. While Ibn Kesîr and Beydâvî tend to derive jurisprudential conclusions from the verse (the obligation of congregational prayer, minimum amount of wealth), the fragment coming from Zemahşerî is too limited to be included in the comparison due to its insufficiency. These differences stem partly from the schools: Taberî and Kurtubî represent the transmission-weighted classical exegesis tradition, while Râzî brings forward a theologian/rhetorician approach, and Beydâvî offers a summary and jurisprudential-dogmatic synthesis.
Historical context
From the earliest exegete Taberî (3rd-4th century) through Beydâvî (7th century), the linguistic origin of zakat and fundamental reports (from companions and followers such as Ibn Abbas, Hasan, Katâda, etc.) have been preserved as a stable core, which subsequent exegetes generally transmitted by summarizing or systematizing it. Over time (especially from Râzî onward), linguistic/rhetorical analysis and theologian discussions (the problem of repetition, evaluation of reports on reasons for revelation) became more prominent; in the period of Kurtubî and Ibn Kesîr, jurisprudential disagreements (minimum amount of wealth, zakat al-fitr, the ruling on congregational prayer) were more systematically incorporated into exegesis. In late-period works such as Beydâvî, earlier interpretations were summarized and presented in a shorter, more synthetic style.