A Research on the Meaning of Financial Right in the Expression “Wa Atū Haqqahū Yawma Ḥaṣādihī” (Q. 6:141)

There is a discrepancy between the interpreters regarding the concept and interpretation of the expression “Wa Atū Haqqahū Yawma Ḥaṣādihī” in verse 141 of sūrat al-An’ām; some have interpreted it as obligatory and canonical Zakāt and some others have interpreted it as alms and endowments; there are yet some others who realize this verse as being abolished by verse Zakāt (103, Sūrat al-Tawbah, revealed in Medina). There are also individuals who have interpreted it as pointing to obligatory and canonical Zakāt and, since An’ām is a Makki sūrah and Zakāt has been canonized in Medina, they take this verse as an exception so as to, as they reckon, resolve the conflict. It has been concluded in this study that the expression “Wa Atū Haqqahū Yawma Ḥaṣādihī” does not mean obligatory and canonical Zakāt rather it means alms and endowments that should be given to the poor and indigent persons after harvesting the crops. This claim has been strengthened through the other verses in the holy Quran, styles, narrations and setting of the verse’s revelation and the differences in Zakāt’s meaning between the antecedent and subsequent interpretive books. Considering this verse as obsolete and an exception, as well, is not supported by any Quranic and narrative proof hence incorrect.