Why is the one who abandons zakah not declared a disbeliever, just as the one who abandons prayer is, and what is the meaning of the verse (And woe to the disbelievers who do not give zakah)?
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Question:
This questioner says: How is the one who abandons prayer declared a disbeliever, while the one who abandons zakah is not, even though they are often paired together in the Qur'an? And what is the meaning of the noble verse in Surat Fussilat[Fussilat 41:6-7].
Answer:
The one who abandons prayer is declared a disbeliever because there is evidence for his disbelief, such as His sayingMishkat al-Masabih 574, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Sunan Ibn Majah 1078Sahih (Darussalam), among other things. As for the one who abandons zakah, if he abandons it while denying its obligation, then he is a disbeliever. Yes. Because he is lying to Allah and His Messenger and to the consensus of the Muslims. But if he abandons it out of stinginess while acknowledging its obligation, then he is not a disbeliever, because there is no evidence for his disbelief as there is for the one who abandons prayer. As for His saying (Exalted is He) [Fussilat 41:6-7], the zakah intended here, and Allah knows best, is the purification of the souls, which is obedience and uprightness upon the religion of Allah. He said (Exalted is He) [Ash-Shams 91:9-10], so the purification of the souls is their obedience to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), because purification means cleansing.
And growth, increase, and obedience purify the souls, increase them, and bring upon them blessing and good. Therefore, it was called zakah. The interpretation of the verse is this because the verse is Meccan; the noble verse is Meccan, and the zakah of wealth was not made obligatory until after the migration of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Madinah. This indicates that the zakah intended here is the zakah of the soul, not the zakah of wealth. Yes.
This questioner says: How is the one who abandons prayer declared a disbeliever, while the one who abandons zakah is not, even though they are often paired together in the Qur'an? And what is the meaning of the noble verse in Surat Fussilat
And woe to those who associate others with Allah - (7) Those who do not give zakah, and in the Hereafter they are disbelievers.
وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُم بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَAnswer:
The one who abandons prayer is declared a disbeliever because there is evidence for his disbelief, such as His saying
as saying, “The covenant between us and them is prayer, so if anyone abandons it he has become an infidel.”
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْعَهْدُ الَّذِي بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ الصَّلَاةُ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا فَقَدْ كَفَرَBetween a person and Kufr (disbelief) is abandoning the prayer.
بين العبد وبين الكفر ترك الصلاةAnd woe to those who associate others with Allah - (7) Those who do not give zakah
وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ(9) He has succeeded who purifies it, (10) And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَاAnd growth, increase, and obedience purify the souls, increase them, and bring upon them blessing and good. Therefore, it was called zakah. The interpretation of the verse is this because the verse is Meccan; the noble verse is Meccan, and the zakah of wealth was not made obligatory until after the migration of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Madinah. This indicates that the zakah intended here is the zakah of the soul, not the zakah of wealth. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، لماذا لا يكفر تارك الزكاة كما يكفر تارك الصلاة، وما معنى الآية(وويل للمشركين الذين لا يؤتون الزكاة)؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.