Does the one who does not pray and does not pay zakah count as a disbeliever?
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The questioner : Does the one who does not pray and does not pay zakah count as a disbeliever?
The Shaykh : If the questioner means the one who does not pray and does not pay zakah, meaning he combines leaving off the prayer with leaving off the zakah, then yes, he is a disbeliever. The evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) indicates that the one who leaves off the prayer is a disbeliever with major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that takes him out of the religion.
And if he means that he does not pray and does not pay zakah, meaning he leaves off the prayer while he pays zakah, or he leaves off the zakah while he prays, then there is a detailed explanation in this:
If he means that he leaves off the prayer and pays zakah, we tell him: If he leaves off the prayer and pays zakah, he is a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and giving the zakah does not benefit him because he is a disbeliever. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:54].
And if his intention is that he left off the zakah while praying, meaning he prays but does not pay zakah, then the correct view is that he does not leave Islam, but he has committed a major sin among the major sins. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Ali 'Imran 3:180] And Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: [At-Tawbah 9:34-35] And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 1403 meaning a great bald snake with no down on its head due to the abundance of its venom, its hair having been torn out, meaning its jaws, and it says: Sahih al-Bukhari 1403.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that:Sahih Muslim 987a This is also a severe and great warning, but it does not make him a disbeliever because of his saying in this hadith: Sunan Abi Dawud 1658Sahih (Al-Albani) And that is because if he were a disbeliever, he would have no way to Paradise.
And because Abdullah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him), who is one of the well-known Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not consider any act of worship whose abandonment is disbelief except the prayer".
The summary of the answer to the man's question is: The one who does not pray and does not pay zakah is a disbeliever who has apostatized from Islam because he does not pray, and his not paying zakah is injustice upon injustice. And if he does not pay zakah but he prays, he has committed a great major sin, but he is not a disbeliever.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
The Shaykh : If the questioner means the one who does not pray and does not pay zakah, meaning he combines leaving off the prayer with leaving off the zakah, then yes, he is a disbeliever. The evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) indicates that the one who leaves off the prayer is a disbeliever with major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that takes him out of the religion.
And if he means that he does not pray and does not pay zakah, meaning he leaves off the prayer while he pays zakah, or he leaves off the zakah while he prays, then there is a detailed explanation in this:
If he means that he leaves off the prayer and pays zakah, we tell him: If he leaves off the prayer and pays zakah, he is a disbeliever with disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and giving the zakah does not benefit him because he is a disbeliever. Allah the Exalted said:
And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger and that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy and that they do not spend except while they are unwilling.
وَمَا مَنَعَهُمْ أَنْ تُقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ نَفَقَاتُهُمْ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِهِ وَلا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلاةَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كُسَالَى وَلا يُنفِقُونَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كَارِهُونَAnd if his intention is that he left off the zakah while praying, meaning he prays but does not pay zakah, then the correct view is that he does not leave Islam, but he has committed a major sin among the major sins. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:
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. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted.
وَلا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌAnd 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, [it will be said], "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلا يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ * يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَWhoever 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
من آتاه الله مالاً فلم يؤد زكاته مثل له يوم القيامة شجاعاً أقرعHe takes it by its jaws
يأخذ بلهزمتيهI am your wealth, I am your treasure.
أنا مالك أنا كنزكAnd he (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that:
If any owner of gold or silver does not pay what is due on him, when the Day of Resurrection would come, plates of fire would be beaten out for him; these would then be heated in the fire of Hell and his sides, his forehead and his back would be cauterized with them. Whenever these cool down, (the process is) repeated during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until judgment is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell.
ما من صاحب ذهب ولا فضة لا يؤدي منها حقها إلا إذا كان يوم القيامة صفحت صفائح من نار وأحمي عليها في نار جهنم فيكوى بها جنبه وجبينه وظهره كلما بردت أعيدت في يوم كان مقدراه خمسين ألف سنة حتى يقضى بين العباد ثم يرى سبيله إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النارhe sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell
ثم يرى سبيله إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النارAnd because Abdullah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him), who is one of the well-known Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not consider any act of worship whose abandonment is disbelief except the prayer".
The summary of the answer to the man's question is: The one who does not pray and does not pay zakah is a disbeliever who has apostatized from Islam because he does not pray, and his not paying zakah is injustice upon injustice. And if he does not pay zakah but he prays, he has committed a great major sin, but he is not a disbeliever.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.