بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
(In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)
Allah Most High says:
Let not those who are miserly with what Allah has given them from Allah's bounty suppose that it is better for them. On the contrary, it is worse for them! The things with which they were so miserly will be bound around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. (Al-Qur'an: Al-Imran 3:180)
Woe to the Musyrikin (polytheist) who do not pay Zakat! (Al-Quran: Fussilat 41:6-7)
Then give them (those who hoard gold and silver, and do not spend them for the sake of Allah) "good tidings" of a painful punishment, a day when it (their hoarded wealth) will be heated in Hell-Fire, and then their foreheads, their sides, and their backs will be branded with it. (And it will be said to them): "This is what you hoarded up for yourselves, so taste whatever you use to hoard!" (Al-Quran: At-Taubah 9:34-35)
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying:
"If any possessor of gold or silver does not pay what is due on it (of Zakat), when the Day of Resurrection come, plates of fire will be beaten out for him; they will be heated in the Hell-Fire, and his forehead, sides and back will be cauterised with them. Each time they are cooled off, they will be returned to him, during a day whose length will be fifty thousand year, until Allah's judgement is pronounced upon mankind and he sees whether his path takes him to the Garden or to the Fire.
He was asked: "Messenger of Allah, what about camels?" He replied: "If any owner of camels does not pay whatever (Zakat) is due on them, when the Day of Resurrection comes, a soft, sandy plain will be spread out for them, as smooth as can be; and he will find that not a single young camel is missing, and they will trample him with their hoofs and bite them with their mouths. As often as the first of them passes him, the last of them will be brought back to him, during a day whose length will be fifty thousand years, until Allah's judgement is passed upojn mankind and he sees whether his path takes him to the Garden or to the Fire."
He was asked: "Messenger of Allah, what about cattle and sheep?" He replied: "If any owner of cattle or sheep does not pay whatever is due on them, when the Day of Resurrection comes, a soft, sandy plain will be spread out for them; and he will find none of them missing, (either) with twisted horns, without horns, or with a broken horns, and they will gore him with their horns and trample them with their hoofs. As often as the first of them passes him, the last of them will be brought back to him during a day whose length will be fifty thousand years, until Allah's Judgement is pronounced upon mankind and he sees whether his path takes him to the Garden or to the Fire." (Muslim)
Allah's Messenger said:
"Three kinds of people will enter the Fire, first; a ruler who sets himself up as lord over people; a man rich in property who does not pay the right of Allah (that is, Zakat) from his property; and a vainglorious poor person (referring to one who deprives his family of their share from the public treasury - that is of Zakat of Sadaqah - because of false dignity or false pride, although he qualifies to receive help from this source)."
Ibn 'Abbas said:
"A person who has enough means to be able to make Hajj to Allah's House but he does not perform the Hajj, or who meets the requirements for paying the Zakat but he does not pay it, will ask, at the time of his death, to be returned to his life." (At that), a man told him: "Fear Allah, Ibn 'Abbas! Only the unbelievers will ask to be returned (to life)." Ibn 'Abbas replied: "Let me recite to you this from the Al-Qur'an. Allah Most High says: "And spend from whatever we have provided for you, before death comes to one of you and then he says: "My Lord, if You woul delay death for me for a short while, I would act charitably and be among the righteous." (Al-Qur'an: Al-Munafiqoon 63:10) 'Act charitably' here means paying the Zakat or performing the Hajj."
Ibn 'Abbas was asked about the obligation of Zakat, and he replied: "When the property of a person reaches two hundred (Dirhams), paying Zakat on it becomes obligatory." He was asked about the obligation of Hajj and he replied: "It becomes obligatory when one has the necessary provisions and the mount (that is, the animal to ride upon)."
No Zakat is to be paid on jewelry which is in used. However, if it is stored or rented out, Zakat is due on it. There detailed rules concerning the rate of Zakat due on camels, cattle and sheep, stock-in-trade, agricultural land which is irrigated and which is non-irrigated, and one should consult books of Islamic Jurisprudence concerning these.
Abu Mas'ood in explaining the verses of Al-Qur'an: Al-Taubah 9:34-35 which have been quoted above says: "On the Day of Resurrection, one Dinar will not be placed on top of another Dinar, nor a Dirham on top of another Dirham; rather a person's skin will be stretched so much that every Dinar and Dirham (on which he did not pay Zakat, although he was obliged to do so) will touch his skin and its heat will be felt."
If it is asked: "Why have the forehead, the sides and the back been singled out (for mention in this verse)?" the answer is: "When a miserly rich person sees a poor person approaching him, he frowns wrinkles on his forehead, and turns his sides (to him), and when the poor person comes close to him, he turns away, showing him his back. That is why these parts of the body are mentioned in those verses."
Allah's Messenger said:
"Five for five." When they asked: "What does 'five for five' means?", he replied: "When a nation breaks its agreement, Allah gives its enemy power over it; when people judge by criteria other than what Allah has revealed, poverty spreads among them; when lewdness appears among people, death spreads among them; when they give short measure and weight, they struck with famine and shortages of vegetation; and when they do not pay Zakat, rain is withheld from them."
A story. Muhammad bin Yusuf Faryabi said: "Once I went to visit Abi Sinan together with some friends. We went into his house and sat with him for a while. Then he stood up and said: "Let us go and pay our condolences to our neighbour whose brother has passed away." So we stood up and went with him to the neighbour's house, and we found him weeping bitterly and lamenting for his brother. We offered words of solace and condolence, but he would accept none of them. We said: "Do you not know that everyone must die?" He said: "Yes, but I am weeping for the punishment which my brother is going through morning and evening." We said to him: "Has Allah informed you about the Unsees?" He said: "No. But when I buried him and smoothed the earth on his grave and the people left, I sat by his grave. A voice came from his grave, saying: 'Oh, the punishment which is upon me! I used to pray and I used to fast!' At that, I became aggitated and opened the grave to see what was happening. I saw that the grave was full of fire, and there was a ring of fire around his neck. Full of pity for him. I stretched out my hand to take off this ring, but my hand and fingers for burned." Then he showed us his hand, which was burned. He continued: "I then covered his grave with earth and left. So how can I help weeping and mourning for him?" We asked: "What was it your brother did wrong in this world?" He replied: "He never paid any Zakat from his property." Thereupon we recited: "Let not those who are miserly with what Allah has given them of Allah's bounty suppose that it is better for them. On the contrary, it is worse for themm the things with which were so miserly will be bound around their necks on the Day of Resurrection." (Al-Quran: Al-Imran 3:180) and we said to him: "Your brother's punishment has been hastened before the Day of Resurrection." We left him and went to Allah's Messenger's Companions, Abu Dharr, and we told him this story and said: "We see that Jews and Christians die, but we do not observe such a thing as this among them." He said: "As for them, no doubt they are in the Fire, but sometimes Allah shows you something of the believers' punishment in order that you may learn a lesson.
Allah Most High says:
Then whoever sees, it is for his own self. (Al-Qur'an: Al-An'am 6:104)
Your Lord is never unjust to His servants (Al-Qur'an: Fussilat 41:46)
We ask Allah's forgiveness and protection. Indeed, He is the Generous and the Magnanimous!
