زکوٰۃ نہ ادا کرنے کا انجام

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever Allah the Exalted has given wealth, and then he does not pay its zakat, on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will take the form of a bald, highly venomous snake with two black spots (on its head), and it will become a collar (round his neck) on the Day of Resurrection; then the snake will seize both his jaws and say, 'I am your wealth, I am your treasure.'" Then the Prophet ﷺ recited: "Those who are miserly with what Allah has given them of His bounty should not think that it is good for them; rather it is bad for them. That which they withheld out of miserliness will be made a collar (round their necks) on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari and Muslim)

After faith and creed, the two important pillars mentioned most abundantly in the Qur'an and Hadith are prayer and zakat, and it seldom happens that prayer is mentioned while the mention of zakat is left out. From this it does not take long to realise that, just as prayer is the foundation of the rights of Allah and of divine worship, so zakat is the basis and foundation of the rights owed to the servants of Allah. The complete human being is the one who, alongside fulfilling the rights of Allah, does not fall into any laziness, sloth, or hesitation regarding the rights of His creation. The entire Noble Qur'an is filled with the command to spend (infaq) and to prefer others over oneself. In one place Allah the Exalted, declaring spending to be the foundation of all success, says:

"Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and with Allah is a great reward. So fear Allah as much as you can, and listen and obey, and spend in charity in the way of Allah, which is better for you. And whoever is protected from the greed of his own soul, it is they who are successful. If you lend to Allah a goodly loan (that is, spend in His way), He will multiply it for you and forgive you, for Allah is Most Appreciative, Most Forbearing." (Al-Taghabun 14-15)

In these verses, spending in the way of Allah is described as success, and this points to a reality that cannot be denied.

In this noble hadith the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has clearly warned the one who does not pay zakat of his fate in the Hereafter: that is, the wealth which, by paying zakat, could become a means of comfort and ease for him on the Day of Resurrection. In contrast, the miser and money-worshipper who, out of love of wealth, clings to his riches, sits upon his wealth like a snake, does not pay the obligatory zakat, and gives others no chance to benefit from it — his fate in the Hereafter will appear before him in such a form that his wealth, riches, and treasure will become a snake for him and keep biting him. To further explain this, the Prophet ﷺ also recited verse 180 of Surah Aal-e-Imran, in which Allah the Exalted has explicitly mentioned those misers who do not spend in the way of Allah the wealth Allah has given them.

The one who cannot take out the due of the needy from what Allah the Exalted has bestowed, whose heart has become so narrow, who has become so selfish and so money-worshipping — then his soul, his wealth, and his heart all remain impure. So zakat is a trial for the people of faith, a means of distinguishing the genuine from the counterfeit, a dividing wall between the obedient and the rebellious. Such a person, who cannot answer the call to help Allah's deserving servants out of Allah's religion and by Allah's command, thereby removes himself from the ranks of the people of faith, and on the Day of Resurrection this very wealth will become a collar round his neck. May Allah the Exalted grant every Muslim who possesses the nisab the ability to pay zakat and to be saved from this fate in the Hereafter. Amin!