Fath al-Rabbani

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) towards Yemen, he said to him: “You are going to a people from among the People of the Book. First, invite them to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah. If they accept this from you, then inform them that Allah has made five prayers obligatory upon them during the day and night. If they accept this from you, then inform them that Allah has also made zakat obligatory upon their wealth, to be taken from their rich and distributed among their poor. If they accept this from you, then (when taking zakat) avoid taking their most valuable possessions, and beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah. When they testify to this, they will protect their blood and wealth from me, and their reckoning will be with Allah the Exalted. When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) assumed the caliphate and those who had turned apostate became apostates, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to fight them. But Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How will you fight those who perform prayer? But Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will certainly fight those who refuse to pay zakat. By Allah, if they withhold even a single she-goat which they used to give as obligatory charity to Allah and His Messenger, I will fight them for it. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I saw that Allah had opened the chest of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to fight those who refused zakat, I knew that this was the truth.

Ubaydullah bin Abdullah says: When people became apostates during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Abu Bakr! How can you fight these people, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that I have been commanded to fight the people until they say La ilaha illallah, and when they say La ilaha illallah, they will protect their blood and wealth from me, except by right, and their reckoning is with Allah the Exalted. But Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I will surely fight those who differentiate between prayer and zakat, for zakat is the due right of wealth. By Allah, if they withhold even a single goat which they used to give to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I will fight them for withholding it. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I immediately realized that Allah the Exalted had opened the chest of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) for fighting, so I knew that this was the truth.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The owner of a treasure, who does not pay its zakat, will be brought on the Day of Resurrection along with his treasure. His treasure will be made into plates and heated in the fire of Hell, then his forehead, sides, and back will be branded with it, and this will continue until Allah finishes judging between His servants. According to your reckoning, this will be a day equal to fifty thousand years. After that, the person will see his path, whether it leads to Paradise or to Hell.

Similarly, whoever owns camels and does not pay their zakat will be brought on the Day of Resurrection along with the camels, and those camels will be very fat and healthy. Then the owner will be laid down in a vast plain, and the camels will trample over him. When the last camel passes, the first one will be brought back, and this treatment will continue until Allah finishes judging between His servants. That day, according to your reckoning, will be equal to fifty thousand years. After that, it will be seen whether his path is towards Paradise or towards Hell.

Likewise, whoever owns goats and does not pay their zakat will also be brought on the Day of Resurrection along with the goats, and those goats will be very fat and healthy. The man will be laid down in a vast plain, and the goats will trample him with their hooves and strike him with their horns. When the last goat passes, the first one will be brought back, and this treatment will continue until Allah finishes judging between His servants. That day, according to your reckoning, will be equal to fifty thousand years. After that, it will be seen whether his path is towards Paradise or towards Hell.

Someone asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is the ruling regarding horses? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Goodness and blessing have been placed in the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection. (In reality) horses are of three types: one is a source of reward for its owner, one is a means of covering (needs), and one is a cause of sin. The horse that is a source of reward is the one whose owner keeps it for the purpose of jihad in the way of Allah. Whatever the horse eats from its belly will be a reward for its owner. When it walks over one or two hills, for every step, the owner will receive a reward. If a river comes before it and it drinks from it, every drop that enters its belly will bring a reward for its owner. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) also mentioned reward for its urine and dung.

The horse that is a means of covering is the one whose owner keeps it so that he does not have to ask anyone in times of need, and from it he gains beauty, elegance, and honor. However, such an owner should not neglect the rights of the horse’s back and belly. As for the horse that is a cause of sin for its owner, it is the one whose owner keeps it out of pride, arrogance, and to show off before people.

Someone asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is the ruling regarding donkeys? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No specific command has been revealed to me regarding them, but there is a verse that is unique and all-encompassing, that is: {فَمَنْ یَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّۃٍ خَیْرًا یَرَہٗ۔ وَمَنْ یَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّۃٍ شَرًّا یَرَہٗ} (Surah Az-Zalzalah: 8), meaning: Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.

Abu ‘Umar Ghadani says: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), when a man from Banu ‘Amir bin Sa‘sa‘ah passed by. It was told about him that he was the wealthiest man of his tribe. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Call him to me. The people called him. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: I have heard that you are quite wealthy? The ‘Amiri said: Yes, by Allah! I have one hundred donkeys and one hundred white camels. Then he mentioned various kinds of camels, slaves, and horses. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Beware of the feet of camels and the hooves of goats. He (may Allah be pleased with him) repeated this statement so many times that the color of the ‘Amiri began to change. Finally, he said: O Abu Hurairah! What do you mean by this statement of yours? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: Whoever has camels and does not pay their due right... (then he mentioned a hadith similar to the previous one), and whoever has cows and does not pay their due right in hardship and ease, then on the Day of Resurrection they will come, alert and fattened, then a plain field will be formed for them (the owner will be laid down there), those cows will trample him with their hooves and gore him with their horns. When the last cow passes, the first will be brought back again. (This punishment will continue) until judgment is passed among the people, while the length of that day will be equal to a thousand years. Then it will be seen whether his path is towards Paradise or towards Hell. And whoever has goats... (he mentioned a hadith similar to the previous one). The ‘Amiri said: O Abu Hurairah! What is the right of camels? He said: The right of camels is that when paying zakat, you give the best of the camels, lend a milking animal to someone, give a camel to a needy person for riding, likewise give milk to people, and lend a male camel for mating as well.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever owns camels and does not pay their due right... (The details regarding the zakat of camels, cows, and goats that have already been mentioned were repeated here, then he said:) Whoever owns a treasure and does not pay its due right, then on the Day of Resurrection his treasure will come in the form of a bald snake with its mouth open and will chase its owner. The owner, seeing it, will start to run away, but his Lord will call out to him: This is your treasure which you kept hoarding, now take it, for I am more free of need from it than you. When that man sees that there is no way to escape, he will put his hand into its mouth, and the snake will begin to chew his hand like a camel chews. A man asked: O Messenger of Allah! What is the right of camels? He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “To milk them at the water, to lend its bucket, to lend the male camel for mating, to lend a milking camel, and to ride the camels in the way of Allah.”

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever Allah has given wealth to and he does not pay its zakat, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be turned into a bald snake, with two black spots over its eyes. It will seize its owner by the jaws and say, "I am your wealth, I am your treasure." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {وَلَا یَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِیْنَ یَبْخَلُوْنَ بِمَا آتَاہُمُ اللّٰہُ مِنْ فَضْلِہٖ ھُوَ خَیْرًا لَّھُمْ بَلْ ھُوَ شَرٌّلَّھُمْ سُیُطَوَّقُوْنَ مَا بَخِلُوْا بِہٖ یَوْمَ الْقِیَامَۃِ وَلِلّٰہِ مِیْرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْاَرْضِ وَاللّٰہُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ خَبِیْرٌ} (Surah Aal-e-Imran 180) — "And let not those who are miserly with what Allah has given them of His bounty think it is good for them; rather, it is bad for them. That which they were miserly with will be hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is well aware of what you do."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man's treasure will take the form of a bald snake with two black spots on the Day of Resurrection. Then it will chase its owner, and he will try to escape from it, but the snake will keep pursuing him until it puts its finger into his mouth.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Haydah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever goes to his relative and asks him for something that is more than his need, but he does not give it to him, then on the Day of Resurrection a snake will be brought for that owner, which will be shaking its tongue; this (snake) will be the surplus wealth of his, which he did not give to the one who asked. In another narration, the words are: If a relative asks his relative for something surplus and he does not give it to him, then Allah Almighty will turn such wealth into a snake for him, which will keep biting him on the Day of Resurrection until the judgment is completed.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever does not pay the zakat of his wealth, on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be turned into a bald snake, and it will pursue its owner. He will run away from it to escape, but the snake will keep chasing him, saying: I am your treasure. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) recited the verse from the Book of Allah as the confirmation of this hadith: {سَیُطَوَّقُوْنَ مَا بَخِلُوْا بِہِ یَوْمَ الْقِیَامَۃِ۔} (Surah Aal-e-Imran, 180) meaning: Those who were miserly will soon have it hung as a collar around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. Imam Sufyan once said: It will be hung as a collar around their necks.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever does not pay the zakat of his wealth, Allah Almighty will turn his wealth into a bald snake with two spots on the Day of Resurrection. That snake will remain with that person, rather it will become a collar around his neck, and it will say: I am your treasure, I am your treasure.

Ahnaf bin Qais says: I came to Madinah Munawwarah, and I wanted to receive a gift from Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). I sat down in a circle of the Quraysh. A man with disheveled clothes came there, he had wrapped a cloth around his head, and he began to say: Give glad tidings to those who hoard treasures that their foreheads, backs, and sides will be branded with fire. Then he separated himself and prayed two rak‘ahs behind a pillar. I asked: Who is this? It was said: This is Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him). So I went to him and said: What is the meaning of what you were saying? He said: By Allah, I only said what those people heard from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: May Allah have mercy on you, I used to receive a gift from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), what do you think about that? He said: You may take it, these days it is in the form of cooperation, but soon it will become a debt, when that situation arises, then leave it. (The words of another narration are:) When such wealth becomes the price of your religion, then leave it.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came into the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was sitting in the shade of the Ka'bah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) began to say: By the Lord of the Ka'bah! They are truly the greatest losers, by the Lord of the Ka'bah! They are in loss. I was overcome with intense grief and began to sigh deeply, (I thought to myself) is there something wrong with me because of which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is saying this? So I said: May my parents be sacrificed for you, who are the ones in loss? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Those with much wealth, except for those who (while giving charity) scatter their wealth here and there, but such people are few. Whoever dies leaving behind goats, camels, or cows, without having paid their zakat, then on the Day of Resurrection these animals will come, fat and healthy, and will trample their owner with their feet and hooves and gore him with their horns, until judgment is passed among the people. After the last animal passes, the first will be brought back again. In another narration: When the last animal passes, the first will be returned.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hulb Tai (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) related a hadith regarding zakat, in which he said: None of you should come on the Day of Resurrection in such a state that his goat is with him, bleating.