The fate of one who does not pay Zakat
➊ Allah the Exalted says:
وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَّهُمُ سَيُطَوْقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيمَةِ [Al-Imran: 180]
“Those whom Allah has bestowed favor upon do not withhold it for themselves, thinking it is better for them; rather, it will be worse for them. On the Day of Resurrection, they will be made to wear a collar of fire because of their stinginess.”
➋ At another place, Allah the Exalted says:
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلَا يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ . يَوْمَ يُحْمَىٰ …..الخ [At-Tawbah: 34-35]
“Those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, give them tidings of a painful punishment. On the Day when that treasure will be heated in the fire of Hell, and their foreheads, their sides, and their backs will be branded with it. (And it will be said to them,) ‘This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard.'”
➌ It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Whoever Allah has given wealth but does not pay Zakat on it, on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will appear as a poisonous bald snake with two black spots over its eyes, and it will be his necklace around his neck. It will bite his jaws and say, ‘I am your wealth, I am your treasure.'”
[Bukhari: 1403, Book of Zakat: Chapter on the sin of withholding Zakat]
➍ It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Whoever has gold or silver and does not pay Zakat on it, on the Day of Resurrection, plates of gold and silver will be made for him from the fire, heated in the fire of Hell. Then these plates will be branded on his sides, his forehead, and his back. For fifty thousand years, until the judgment among the servants is completed, whenever these plates are turned towards Hellfire, they will be returned to his body continuously.”
You were asked, O Messenger of Allah! What about camels? He (SAW) said: Whoever owns camels and does not pay their Zakat, while it is also recommended that on the day they are taken to be watered, their milk is milked and distributed among the poor and needy, then on the Day of Resurrection, the owner of the camels who did not pay Zakat will be thrown face down into a rough open field for the camels to trample. The camels will be more numerous, fresh, and fat than before, and none of their young will be missing. The camels will trample their owner with their feet and bite him with their teeth. When the first group passes over him, the second group will follow, and this will continue for a day equal to fifty thousand years until the judgment among the servants is completed and everyone will see their place, whether in Paradise or Hell.
You were asked, O Messenger of Allah! What about cows and goats? He (SAW) said: Whoever owns cows or goats and does not pay their Zakat, on the Day of Resurrection, he will be thrown face down into a wide rough field for them. None of the animals will be missing, including those with curved horns, without horns, or with broken horns. The animals will gore him with their horns and trample him with their hooves. When the first group passes over him, the last group will continue to pass over him continuously for a day equal to fifty thousand years until the judgment among the servants is completed and everyone will see their place, whether in Paradise or Hell.
You were asked, O Messenger of Allah! What about horses? He said: There are three types of horses. For some people, horses will be a source of torment, for some a veil, and for some a cause of reward. They will be a torment for the one who keeps them for show, pride, and enmity towards Muslims. They will be a veil for the one who keeps them in the way of Allah and does not neglect their rights on their backs and necks. They will be a cause of reward for the one who keeps them for the Muslims in pastures and gardens in the way of Allah. Whatever they graze there will be recorded as good deeds for their owner, as well as their dung and urine. When they break their ropes and walk powerfully on one or two hills, their footprints and dung are recorded as good deeds. Whenever their owner passes by a canal and they drink water from it, even if the owner did not intend to give them water, good deeds equal to the amount of water they drank are recorded.
Then you were asked, O Messenger of Allah! What about donkeys? He said: Regarding donkeys, nothing was revealed to me except this comprehensive verse whose translation is: “Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
[Muslim: 978, Book of Zakat: Chapter on the sin of withholding Zakat, Abu Dawood: 1658, Ahmad: 162/2, Abdul Razzaq: 6858, Ibn Makhzama: 2252, Ibn Hibban: 3253, Bayhaqi: 18/4]
A Mukallaf is one upon whom Shariah rulings apply. Allama Yusuf Qaradawi states that the scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed that Zakat is indeed obligatory on a Muslim who is adult, sane, free, and possesses the Nisab (minimum amount of wealth). Also, Muslims have agreed that the obligation of Zakat does not apply to non-Muslims. Although disbelievers and non-Muslims are subject to all rulings, Zakat is not demanded from them because before they become Mukallaf in subsidiary matters, they must first embrace Islam.
[Fiqh al-Zakat: 95/1]
(Ibn Hazm) Zakat will not be taken from a disbeliever.
[Al-Muhalla bil Athar: 3/4]
(Ibn Qudamah) Zakat is only obligatory on free Muslims. Being free is necessary because a slave is not a complete owner, and as long as a person is not an owner, Zakat cannot be obligatory on him.
[For more details see: Al-Mughni: 69/4, Al-Majmu: 326/5, Radd al-Mukhtar: 5/2, Bidayat al-Mujtahid: 209/1]
(Shafi’i, Abu Hanifa, Ibn Hazm) Zakat on a slave’s wealth is obligatory on his owner.
[Al-Muhalla bil Athar: 4/4]
The condition of being sane and adult is set because Shariah rulings do not apply to one who is mentally deficient or before puberty, as narrated from Hazrat Aisha (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:
رفع القلم عن ثلثه عن النائم حتى يستيقظ وعن الغلام حتى يحتلم وعن المجنون حتي يقيق
“Three persons’ sins are not recorded: the sleeper until he wakes, the child until he reaches puberty, and the insane until he recovers.”
[Ahmad: 144/6, Abu Dawood: 4398, Ibn Majah: 2041, Nasai: 156/6, Darmi: 171/2, Ibn al-Jarood: 148]
Scholars have had lengthy disagreements on this issue, which can be seen in the voluminous books of Fiqh.
[Al-Umm by Shafi’i: 35/2, Sharh al-Muhadhdhab: 300/5, Al-Hawi: 152/3, Rawdat al-Talibin: 3/2, Kashaf al-Qina: 169/2, Subul al-Salam: 183/2]
But the stronger opinion is that Zakat is obligatory even on the wealth of children and mentally deficient persons because Zakat is a right of the wealth and it is not waived due to someone’s minority or mental deficiency, as Allah the Exalted says:
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةٌ تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ [At-Tawbah: 103]
“Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them.”
Imam Bukhari established a chapter titled:
باب إنفاق المال فى حقه
“The statement about spending wealth in its right.”
Under this, he narrated the hadith:
It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said:
لا حسد إلا فى اثنين رجل آتاه الله مالا فسلطه على هلكته فى الحق
“Envy is only permissible in two persons: one whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it rightly.”
[Bukhari: 1409, Book of Zakat]
Since the purpose is to benefit the poor and needy, it is obligatory to take their right from whoever owns the wealth. In a hadith it is stated:
تو خذ من أغنيائهم
From this, it is understood that Zakat will be taken from the rich. This term is general and includes both minors and adults, as well as sane and insane. Therefore, Zakat is obligatory on their wealth as well, but its payment will be the responsibility of their guardians.
(Ibn Hazm) prefers this view.
[Al-Muhalla bil Athar: 4/4 – 5]
(Ibn Qudamah) agrees with this.
[Al-Mughni: 69/4]
(Yusuf Qaradawi) holds the same position.
[Fiqh al-Zakat: 119/1]
