I know it is a typical American expression, Con Game, and many in the world may or may not know it. But it is a fairly harmless one and all it means is a great big trick.

It means an act of deception and fraud – short from “confidence.”

The way it works is you first try and win the “confidence” of someone and then, when you have achieved that goal, proceed to trick, fool and deceive that person by relieving them of their money, valuables and such.

Hence the name Con Game.

Do you think I am secretly spreading American culture around the world? You bet I am.

But I am not doing it secretly. And I am not a betting man, so I will quickly add: Astaghfirullah!

But, again, it is one of those disarming American expressions.

Do I get paid for doing this? No, not really.

Certainly, not by anyone in the American Government; and certainly not by those celebrated Think Tanks and media outfits.

Even though I keep dropping hints to them: Hey, how about channeling some of those millions my way and then watch how I go and get the hearts and minds of Muslims for America.

The point is I don’t think I have anything worth selling. And I am not sure my soul is of much value to anyone.

So, let us get on with this great big Con Game that Muslims have perpetrated for a long time – and are still going strong without much sign of abatement.

Here is what I mean:

Allah made Zakat compulsory for rich Muslims. Everyone knows that.

Zakat's place in the Qur'an is next only to Salaah or Namaz, as anyone who reads the Qur'an should tell you.

But the funny thing is Muslims behave or act or pretend as if nobody knows that.

That means, in the Qur'an, every time Allah mentions Salaah, he also couples it with Zakat.

If you want to be careful, just say “more or less.”

I actually sat down and counted.

And I came up with, maybe, 25 instances of Salaah and Zakah being inextricably and indelibly and unmistakably coupled together.

Maybe my count was not right. But I don’t think I am entirely imagining the connection that God put between Salaah and Zakah.

And here is the great big Muslim Con Game.

The great big Muslim Disconnect, if you want to call it that.

For, Muslims have sundered what God joined together. They separated Zakat from Salaah.

And they generally put Fasting or Rozah or Siyaam in its place.

And they thought, maybe, no one was watching.

They forgot: A-lam ya’lam bi-annallaha yaraa?

They read it in the Qur’an, but they pretended they did not.

Allah only knows why he linked Zakat to Salaah so firmly and clearly – and so unmistakably.

But anyone with any intelligence can see why Shaitan would want to get the Muslims to forget Zakat and decouple it from Salaat.

If only Muslims use their Zakat for one year, they will change the world. That is how powerful the Zakat is and can be if properly used.

This will, further, purify and cleanse and detoxify human society and God’s earth everywhere – from all Adanaas wal arjaas and khubuth and khabaa-ith.

All the impurities I mean – physical, psychological and spiritual.

That is what Zakat can do in just one year of global implementation – if God Almighty wants that to happen.

Is that why, do you think, Shaitan wouldn't let the Muslims do it?

I mean let Muslims put Zakat firmly at Number Two after Salaah and allow them to institutionalize and implement it globally?

Is that why Shaitan wouldn’t let it happen?

Shaitan’s policy position seems to be: All else, yes, Zakat, no.

Fifty extra-hajj, yes; a thousand new mosques, absolutely; but serious, systematic world-wide Zakat, good God, no.

Biggest bridge on sea and tallest tower on land, hey go for it. But globally institutionalized Zakat on a consistent basis, absolutely not.

Whether it is Shaitan, or whether it is just pure native Muslim genius, acting on its own, the great big Muslim Con Game of disconnecting Zakat from Salaah and thereby sliding Zakat on to the back burner of Islamic and Muslim life on earth is alive and well.

Las Vegas never had it so good!

END

© 2011 Syed Husain Pasha

Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional 
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at] 
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.