Pen for Allah

[previous post in the series - #4 - Not Praying]

The Fifth Major Sin – Not Paying Zakat.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

“And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah Hath given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: Nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks Like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment…” (Surah Ali-Imran 3:180)

And,

“…Woe to the Mushrikeen (polytheists) who do not pay Zakat..” (Surah Fussilat 41:6-7)

And also,

“…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 (the 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 used to hoard!’” (Surah At-Taubah 9:34-35)

Ibn Mas’ood (ra) in explaining these verses quoted above said: “(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 persons’s skin will be stretched so much that every Dinar and Dirham (on which he did not pay Zakat) will touch his skin and its heat will be felt. and if they ask: ‘Why have the forehead, the sides, and the back been singled out (for mention is this verse)?” the answer is: “When a miserly rich person sees a poor person approaching him, he frowns wrinkles, his forehead, and turns his side (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.”

Abu Hurairah (ra) Reported Allah’s Messenger (saw) as saying:

“If any possessor of gold or silver does not pay what is due on it (of Zakat). When the Day of Resurrection comes, plated of fire will be beaten out for him; they will be heated in the dire of Hell, and his forehead, sides, and back will be cauterize with them. Each time they are cooled off, they will be returned 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.”

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 him 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 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 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 horn, and they will gore him with their horns and trample him 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)

The Prophet (saw) said: “Three (kinds of people) will enter the Fire, first: a ruler who sets himself up as a 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 or Sadaqah – because of false dignity or false pride, although he qualifies to receive help from this source).” (Ahmad)

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, not paying it, is a major sin and denying it, lead to Disbelieve. therefor don’t be like the disbelievers who said: “Shall we then feed those whom, if Allah had so willed, He would have fed, (Himself)?” (Surah Ya-Sin 36:47)

O Allah protect us from the evils of money and wealth, and help us to remember that all that we have is from You and to You will shell return.

In the next post InshAllah we will explain about Major Sin # 6 – Not Fasting On A Day Of Ramadan Without Excuse.