Some Quranists argue that the word ḥaqqahu (“its due alms”) in Qur’an 6:141 cannot refer to the Obligatory Charity (Zakat) because the term Zakat is not explicitly used. This is a textbook case of the “exact word fallacy”—rejecting a concept solely because a particular label isn’t mentioned, while ignoring context and meaning. It’s a shallow approach that values terminology over substance.
Yet the Quran itself frequently refers to the same concept using multiple terms. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of the Day of Resurrection, which the Quran describes using a wide array of names 1, each emphasizing a different aspect of the event. This demonstrates that variation in expression is not only common in the Quran but is also stylistically and thematically intentional.
In this article, we will show—using only the Quran’s internal usage patterns and classical Arabic lexicons—that the term ḥaqqahu in 6:141 refers specifically to the Obligatory Charity (Zakat), even if the term Zakat itself is not explicitly used.
The Verse: Quran 6:141
For reference, below is the verse in question and the word-by-word breakdown of the critical portion of the verse.
6:141 He is the One who established gardens, trellised and untrellised, and palm trees, and crops with different tastes, and olives, and pomegranate—fruits that are similar, yet dissimilar. Eat from their fruits, and give the due alms on the day of harvest, and do not waste anything. He does not love the wasters.