The obligation of zakah

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty has made zakah obligatory upon the well-off among the Muslims, in their wealth, in a measure that suffices their poor, so that the poor would face no hardship when they are hungry and in need of clothing, except for what their well-off people squander. Listen! Allah Almighty will take a severe reckoning from them and will punish them with a painful punishment."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. He said: Thabit bin Muhammad al-Zahid is alone in narrating it.
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Thabit is one of the narrators of the Sahih. The remaining narrators of this report have been declared trustworthy, and they have also been criticised.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection there will be ruin for the well-off at the hands of the poor. The poor will say: 'Our Lord, they wronged us regarding our rights, the right which You made binding on them for us.' Allah Almighty will say: 'By My Might and My Majesty, I will surely bring you near, and I will surely drive them far away.'" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "And those in whose wealth there is a known right for the one who asks and the one who is deprived."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains al-Harith bin al-Nu'man, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Alqamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "It is part of the completion of your Islam that you pay the zakah of your wealth."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. The wording of al-Mu'jam al-Kabir is: "part of the completion." Its chain contains a narrator who is not known.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Zakah is the bridge of Islam."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its narrators have been declared trustworthy, except that the narrator Baqiyyah is a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain), though he is thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Islam has eight shares: Islam (that is, bearing the testimony of faith) is a share, prayer is a share, fasting is a share, zakah is a share, Hajj to the House is a share, enjoining good is a share, forbidding evil is a share, and jihad in the path of Allah is a share. And whoever has no share has failed."
Al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains Yazid bin Ata', whom Ahmad declared thiqah (trustworthy), while a group declared him da'if (weak).
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: hadiths of this kind have already passed in the chapter on faith.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were commanded to establish prayer and to pay zakah; whoever does not pay zakah, his prayer is not valid either.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and it has a sahih (authentic) chain.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "In camels their zakah is due, in goats and sheep their zakah is due, in cattle their zakah is due, and in wheat its zakah is due."
Ahmad recorded it, and its chain contains a narrator who has not been named.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me to bring him something on which he would write something after which his Ummah would not go astray. But I feared that he might pass away (while I was gone). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said: "I will remember it and preserve it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I enjoin prayer and zakah, and those whom your right hands possess (that is, I also enjoin you regarding your male and female slaves)."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Abu Dawud recorded it in abridged form.
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains Nu'aym bin Yazid; no one other than Umar bin al-Fadl narrated from him.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man from Banu Tamim came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have a great deal of wealth; I have a family, I have property, and I have goods. Tell me what I should do and how I should spend." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take out the zakah from your wealth, for it is a purification that will purify you; maintain ties with your relatives; and recognise the right of the needy, the neighbour and the one who asks." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, make it brief for me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give the relatives their right, and the needy and the traveller (their right), and do not squander wastefully." He said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is sufficient for me. When I pay the zakah to your (peace and blessings be upon him) representative, will I be free of my obligation regarding it before Allah and His Messenger?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you pay it (the zakah) to my representative, you will be free of your obligation; you will have its reward, and the sin of it will be upon whoever alters it."
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whatever of their lands, their slaves and their livestock they hold when they accept Islam will remain theirs, and nothing will be due from them on these things except zakah."
Ahmad, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat recorded it, except that the latter two narrated these words: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning the dhimmis (non-Muslim subjects): "Whatever they hold when they accept Islam will remain their property." Its chain contains Layth bin Abi Sulaym; he has been declared trustworthy, but he is a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man among those present said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is your view if a man pays the zakah of his wealth?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever pays the zakah of his wealth, the evil of his wealth departs from him."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain is hasan (good), even though some of its narrators have been criticised.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard a hadith from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which I had not heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, even though I was mostly in the company of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No wealth is lost on land or at sea except because of withholding zakah."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains Umar bin Harun, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Protect your wealth through zakah, treat your sick through charity, and prepare for affliction through supplication."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains Musa bin Umayr al-Kufi, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, the person who does not pay zakah will go into Hellfire."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir; its chain contains a narrator, Sinan bin Sa'd, about whom there has been much criticism, though he has also been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Any wealth, even if it lies beneath the seven earths, if its zakah is paid, will not count as 'kanz' (hoarded treasure); and any wealth whose zakah has not been paid, even if it is out in the open, will still count as 'kanz'."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: This narration is reported in "the Sahih" in a similar form, but there it is "mawquf" (stopping at) Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him), who was from the people of Amman, narrates: A letter from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us (in which was written): "To proceed: Affirm the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah; pay zakah; and mark out the mosques in such-and-such a way; otherwise I will wage war against you." Sayyiduna Abu Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We could not find anyone to read that letter to us until we came upon a boy who could read, and he read it to us. The narrator Abd al-Aziz says: I asked Sayyiduna Abu Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him): "Who was the ruler over Amman in those days?" He replied: "An official appointed by Kisra (Chosroes)."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; this narration is mursal, and its chain contains a narrator who is not known.

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever leaves treasure behind him, on the Day of Resurrection that treasure will be made into the form of a bald snake with two black spots; it will follow that person, and he will say: 'Woe to you, who are you?' It will say: 'I am your treasure which you hoarded.' Then that treasure will keep following that person until it takes his hand into its mouth, and then it will swallow the rest of his body."
Al-Bazzar recorded it and said: Its chain is hasan (good). I say: Its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy). Al-Tabarani also recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Sadaqah (that is, sadaqah that has not been paid; the narrator is unsure, perhaps the words are:) zakah, whatever wealth it mixes with, it ruins it."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Uthman bin Abd al-Rahman al-Jumahi. Abu Hatim says: His hadith may be written down, but it is not used as evidence.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The command of prayer was apparent to them, so they prayed; and the command of zakah remained hidden from them, so they devoured it. These are the hypocrites."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Ibrahim al-Ghifari, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Any owner of camels who does not pay their due (that is, zakah) in their hardship and their ease (that is, whether they are fat and healthy or weak, in every case), when he comes on the Day of Resurrection, he will be laid flat before those camels on a barren plain, and they (the camels) will trample him with their feet. Whenever the first of them has passed, the last will start over again. This will go on until judgment is passed between the people; after that the person will see his way."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is an owner of camels will be brought on the Day of Resurrection, having not paid their due (that is, zakah); those camels will come walking to him on an open plain and trample him with their feet. The owner of cows will be brought, having not paid their due (that is, zakah) (in the world); they will come walking to that person and trample him with their feet, and among them there will be none without horns or with a broken horn. The owner of goats will be brought, who did not pay their due; on a barren plain those goats will come walking to him, butt him with their horns and trample him with their feet, and among them there will be no goat without horns or with a broken horn. The owner of treasure will be brought, and that treasure will be given the form of a bald snake; he will find nothing, so it will put that person's hand into its mouth."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in full, while al-Bazzar recorded part of it; its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever believes in Allah Almighty and His Messenger should pay the zakah of his wealth; whoever believes in Allah Almighty and the Last Day should speak what is true or else remain silent; and whoever believes in Allah Almighty and His Messenger should honour his guest."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Yahya bin Abdullah al-Babulutti, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Five things are tied to five things." It was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what is meant by five things being tied to five things?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whenever a people break a covenant, their enemy is given power over them; whenever people judge by other than what Allah Almighty has revealed, poverty spreads among them; whenever immorality appears among a people, death spreads among them; whenever people do not give zakah, rain is withheld from them; and whenever people cheat in measuring, produce is withheld from them and they are seized by years of famine."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Kaysan al-Marwazi; al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him weak. The rest of its narrators have been declared trustworthy, though there is also criticism of them.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon a time will come upon people when their hearts will be like the hearts of the 'Ajam (non-Arabs)." I asked: "What is meant by the hearts of the 'Ajam?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Love of the world." He said: "Their way will be the way of the Bedouins: whatever provision comes to them, they will spend it on animals; they will regard jihad as a harm and zakah as a penalty."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Baqiyyah bin al-Walid, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain); the rest of its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Whoever earns what is pure (that is, lawful wealth), not paying zakah makes it impure; and whoever earns what is impure (that is, unlawful wealth), paying zakah does not make it pure.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its chain is munqati' (broken).

It is reported from him that he said: No man who hoards treasure will have a dirham touching another dirham, or a dinar touching another dinar; rather, his skin will be enlarged until every dinar and every dirham is placed on it separately.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those who do not pay zakah, Allah Almighty afflicts them with years of famine."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I set out from Madinah with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a well from which water was being drawn, and he said: "The owner of the well will come carrying it on the Day of Resurrection, if he has not paid its due." Then he passed by some goats and said: "Such-and-such will be done to the owner of these goats if he has not paid their due." Then he passed by some camels and said something similar. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, which wealth is best?" He said: "There is no good in wealth." I said: "Then what should we keep for our needs?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A servant who serves you, and if he prays, then he counts as your brother; or your horse on which you can go out for jihad."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Adi bin al-Fadl, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that sadaqah be collected, and a man would bring his zakah in proportion to his wealth. I began to weep. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "O Abu Dharr, why are you weeping?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have carried off the reward." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How so?" I said: "They pray just as we pray, and they fast just as we fast, but they have wealth which they give in charity, and we have no such wealth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Rather, in terms of wealth,) those who have much will be of the lowest rank, except the one who does with wealth like this and like this (that is, spends it in the way of Allah), and such people are few." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, how will that be?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Any owner of camels who does not pay their zakah in their hardship and their prosperity (that is, whether they are fat and healthy or lean and weak, in every case), on the Day of Resurrection those camels will come on an open plain and trample him with their feet; whenever the first of them has passed, the next will come back again. This will go on until judgment is passed between the people." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is the ruling on horses?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Horses belong to three kinds of people. One is the person who keeps a horse to use it in the way of Allah; that person will receive its reward in hardship and in prosperity, in every case, so much so that, by Allah, if that horse breaks its rope and climbs one or two hillocks, or enters a green garden (that person will still receive its reward). And whoever keeps it out of arrogance, on the Day of Resurrection this horse will be a burden upon him." The people said: "O Prophet of Allah, what is the ruling on donkeys?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty has revealed nothing about them except one comprehensive verse: 'Whoever does good the weight of an atom will see it (that is, its recompense), and whoever does evil the weight of an atom will see it.'"
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Ibn Majah recorded this narration in abridged form.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain contains a group of narrators whom I do not know.

Maymun bin Mihran narrates: It was said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Zayd bin Harithah has passed away." He said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on him." It was said to him: "O Abu Abd al-Rahman, he has left behind one hundred thousand (dirhams or dinars)." Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "But it did not leave him."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.