The Ruling on the One Who Withholds Zakah and the Evidence for It

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The Shaykh : We are speaking today about zakah, the obligatory alms, because it is the third pillar of Islam. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said in one of the narrations from him: "The one who withholds zakah out of stinginess and negligence is a disbeliever, just as the one who neglects prayer out of laziness and negligence is a disbeliever". However, the evidence indicates that the one who is stingy with zakah does not become a disbeliever and does not leave Islam, but he is subject to severe warnings. Among these is the saying of Allah the Exalted:

And let not those who [greedily] withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them. Their necks will be encircled by what they withheld on the Day of Resurrection

ولا يحسبن الذين يبخلون بما أتاهم الله من فضله هو خيرا لهم بل هو شر لهم سيطوقون ما بخلوا به يوم القيامة

[Ali 'Imran 3:180]

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained this verse by saying:

Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the Zakat of his wealth, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be made like a baldheaded poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes. The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say, 'I am your wealth, I am your treasure.'

من أتاه الله مالا فلم يؤد زكاته مُثل له يوم القيامة شجاعا أقرع له زبيبتان يأخذ بلهزمتيه يقول أنا مالك أنا كنزك

Sahih al-Bukhari 1403

Listen to the hadith.

his wealth will appear to him on the Day of Resurrection as a bald-heated Shuja'a with two dots above its eyes. It will take hold of the corners of his mouth on the Day of Resurrection and will say: 'I am your wealth, I am your hoarded treasure.'

يمثل له يوم القيامة شجاعا أقرع له زبيبتان يأخذ بلهزمتيه يقول أنا مالك أنا كنزك

Sunan an-Nasa'i 2482Sahih (Darussalam)

He said this as a rebuke and a reprimand. So we ask, we ask: What is the bald, fierce serpent? Is it the man carrying a weapon who has no hair on his head, or is it something else? It is the great serpent; this is the bald, fierce serpent. The scholars said: It is the serpent that has no hair on its head because it has been torn apart by the abundance of poison, refuge with Allah. It has two humps. What are the two humps? The two humps are two glands, and they are full of poison, refuge with Allah. It seizes his two jaw muscles, meaning his cheeks, meaning it bites the cheeks of the owner of the wealth and says, "I am your wealth, I am your treasure," when that is said to him on the Day of Resurrection, and this bald, fierce serpent with the two humps has bitten him. What will his regret be at that time? It is indeed a great regret, but there is no time for escape; the time has passed. He left behind wealth that was a loss for him and a gain for others. Listen to the second verse regarding those who withhold zakah, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:

⁽³⁴⁾ O you who have believed, indeed many of the scholars and the monks devour the wealth of people unjustly and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment. ⁽³⁵⁾ The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs

يا أيها الذين آمنوا إن كثيرا من الأحبار والرهبان ليأكلون أموال الناس بالباطل ويصدون عن سبيل الله والذين يكنزون الذهب والفضة ولا ينفقونها في سبيل الله فبشرهم بعذاب أليم يوم يحمى عليها في نار جهنم فتكوى بها جباههم وجنوبهم وظهورهم

[At-Tawbah 9:34-35]

And it is said to them as a rebuke and a reprimand:

This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."

هذا ما كنزتم لأنفسكم فذوقوا ما كنتم تكنزون

[At-Tawbah 9:35]

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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