The Ruling on Abandoning Zakah

Question:
He asks another question, saying: Does abandoning zakah take one out of the religion, or not?

Answer:
Abandoning zakah does not take one out of the religion; it is a major sin, one of the major sins, but its perpetrator does not leave the religion. He is under the will of Allah, because it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: He did not say only to the Fire; he said: This indicates that he is under the will of Allah, and that he may enter Paradise after being tormented, after he is tormented. Just as many sinners are tormented: such as fornicators, those who are undutiful to their parents, and those who consume riba, among others, they may be tormented and then enter Paradise, if they died upon tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and Islam.
They may not be punished if they have great good deeds and righteous works, and Allah forgives them. Allah forgives whom He wills , as He said in His great Book: [al-Nisa:48] Then He, the Exalted, said: [al-Nisa:48] What is less than that, meaning: what is less than shirk (associating partners with Allah), such as undutifulness to parents, leaving zakah, leaving fasting, leaving Hajj despite having the ability, consuming riba (usury or interest), and drinking intoxicants, all of these and their like from sins are under the will of Allah; one may enter the Fire and be punished, or one may be forgiven.
But whoever enters the Fire from among the people of sins does not remain in it; he is not eternal in it. After a period of time in it, Allah takes him out. The period is known by Allah , according to his sins. After purification and after being tested, Allah takes him out of the Fire into Paradise, either by the intercession of the intercessors, such as our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or by the intercession of others, or by the mere mercy and pardon of Allah , when the period that Allah has decreed for him in the Fire ends. He is not eternal, contrary to the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah.
The Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah say: The sinner is eternal in the Fire: whoever abandons zakah is eternal in the Fire, whoever commits zina is eternal in the Fire, whoever is undutiful to his parents is eternal in the Fire, whoever drinks an intoxicant is eternal in the Fire. This is a great error.
The Khawarij say: He is a disbeliever, and he is eternal in the Fire. The Mu'tazilah say: He is in the intermediate position between the two positions; he is not a disbeliever and not a Muslim in this world; he is not a disbeliever and not a Muslim, but in the Hereafter he is eternal in the Fire. So they agree with the Khawarij regarding the Hereafter: he is eternal in the Fire, like the disbelievers. This is batil (invalid); it is invalid speech, contrary to the people of the Sunnah and the community.
The people of the Sunnah and the community say: The sinner is not a disbeliever, such as the fornicator, the thief, and whoever abandons zakah, or abandons fasting Ramadan, or Hajj despite having the ability; he is not a disbeliever, if he does not deny its obligation. Then he is a sinner, threatened with the Fire. If he enters it, he is not eternal in it. And if Allah pardons him, He is the Owner of generosity and bounty . And if he enters the Fire, he is tormented for a period that Allah wills, then Allah takes him out of the Fire into Paradise, as a favor from Him . Only the disbelievers are eternal, those who died upon disbelief in Allah.
And the sinner, if he considers it permissible, becomes a disbeliever. If he considers abandoning zakah permissible, or considers abandoning fasting permissible, and says: Fasting Ramadan is not obligatory upon him, without a valid legal excuse, or says while he is able: Hajj is not obligatory; that is kufr (disbelief). Or he says: Zina is not haram (forbidden), or he says: Undutifulness to parents is not haram, or he says: Drinking an intoxicant is not haram, or he says: Consuming riba, there is no riba in it, it is all halal (lawful). This is shirk akbar (major shirk); he is with the disbelievers. We seek refuge in Allah.
But if he engages in riba while knowing that he is a sinner, or commits zina while knowing that he is a sinner, or drinks an intoxicant while knowing that he is a sinner, or is undutiful to his parents while knowing that he is a sinner, this is under the will of Allah. He is a sinner who has committed a major sin and is in danger of entering the Fire, but he does not become a disbeliever, contrary to the Khawarij. And he is not eternal in the Fire if he enters it, contrary to both the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij. But he is under the will of Allah. If Allah pardons him, by the causes of his tawhid and his righteous works, then Allah, the Exalted, is the Owner of bounty and generosity. And if He torments him according to the sins, He is the Just, the Exalted, the Just Judge. He torments him as He wills according to his evil deeds and his ugly works.
Then, when the period that Allah has decreed for him passes, Allah takes him out of the Fire into Paradise, as a favor and kindness from Him. This is the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community, all of them, and it is the saying of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who follow them with excellence. It is what the Book of Allah indicates, and what the Sunnah of the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) indicates. For this reason, if a man commits zina, he is given the hadd (fixed punishment) and not killed. He is given the hadd of the unmarried: one hundred lashes, and exile for one year. If it were apostasy, he would be killed as an apostate. And the married man is only stoned if he commits zina, and he is a married man who has married and had intercourse. This is stoning, if he is a free adult. But if he is a madman who has no reason, there are no hudud (fixed punishments) upon him.
So the point is: if he is an adult and commits zina while he is a married man who has married and had intercourse with the woman; he is stoned until he dies as a hadd, and he is prayed over. He is not a disbeliever. And if he is unmarried and has not married, or has married but not had intercourse; he is lashed one hundred lashes and exiled for one year. This indicates that he is not a disbeliever. If he were a disbeliever, he would be killed. The Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) said: Narrated by al-Bukhari. So the apostate is a disbeliever if he apostatizes from Islam, and he is killed unless he repents. But the drinker of alcohol is not killed; he is lashed. The undutiful son is given ta'zir (discretionary punishment); the one who is undutiful to his parents is disciplined by the one in authority and deterred, and not killed. Likewise, the one who engages in backbiting and talebearing; all of these are sins. Their perpetrator deserves discipline, and they are not kufr (disbelief), but they are sins. Their perpetrator is under the will of Allah if he dies upon them, contrary to the Khawarij—may Allah disfigure them—who declare people disbelievers for sins, and contrary to the Mu'tazilah who say that he is eternal in the Fire. We ask Allah for safety and well-being. Yes.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.