Those who do not give zakah
الذين لا يؤتون الزكاة
This is a description of the polytheists.
Those who do not give
الذين لا يؤتون
That is, they do not give zakah. Here, zakah may refer to the purification of the self or the purification of wealth. If it refers to the purification of wealth, there is a difficulty, because its apparent meaning implies that disbelievers are obligated to pay zakah. It is well known that a servant is not required to pay zakah until he becomes a Muslim, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh:
You will come to a people of the Book, so let the first thing you call them to be the oneness of Allah, then call them to prayer, then call them to zakah
إنك تأتي قومًا أهلَ كتاب فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إليه توحيد الله ثم ادْعُهم إلى الصلاة ثم ادعهم إلى الزكاة
This indicates that a person is not addressed regarding the performance of zakah until he becomes a Muslim. However, if we say that the intended meaning of zakah is the purification of the self, then this difficulty does not arise. But there is a difficulty from the perspective of the wording, namely His saying:
do not give zakah
لا يؤتون الزكاة
Is the purification of the self something that is given? This is a matter for consideration. Therefore, the verse contains a difficulty whether you interpret it this way or that way. If there is a difficulty between two meanings, we seek the stronger position. The stronger position is that the intended meaning is the purification of the self, and the meaning is: they do not give their selves its purification. In the hadith:
make my soul obedient and purify it, for You are the best One to purify it
آتِ نفسي تقواها وزكِّها أنت خيرُ مَن زكاها On this basis, we prefer that the intended meaning of zakah is the purification of the self, and the meaning is: they do not give their selves its purification, but rather they neglect it and are heedless of it.
while they, concerning the Hereafter, were disbelievers.
وهم بالآخرة هم كافرون
they are in the Hereafter
هم بالآخرة
In the Hereafter
بالآخرة
The prepositional phrase is connected to
disbelievers
كافرون
, and
They
هم
is the subject, and the second
They
هم
, the exegete says:
"emphasis" Is it emphasis? It is a verbal emphasis of the first
They
هم
. Verbal emphasis is when the word is repeated with its same wording, as Ibn Malik said:
And no verbal emphasis comes repeated, like saying "go slowly, go slowly"
Yes.
while they, concerning the Hereafter, were disbelievers.
وهم بالآخرة هم كافرون
That is, they are deniers of it and do not believe in it. They say:
There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.
ما هي إلا حياتنا الدنيا نموت ونحيا وما يهلكنا إلا الدهر
Meaning, some people die and others live, and nothing destroys us except time. There is no resurrection and no reckoning.
