Major Sins Series - Not Paying Zakat
By Abu Usamah | 2026-01-15T15:14:26.317015+00:00 | Topic: Repentance
Major Sins Series - Not Paying Zakat
Khutbah by Abu Usamah
Opening
I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the badness of our deeds.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is no partner for Him.
I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
Introduction to the Fifth Major Sin
The fifth major sin (kabira) from the major sins that people fall into, number five, is a person preventing himself from giving the zakat of Islam - Man'u al-Zakat - preventing oneself from giving the zakat. This is a major sin (kabira) from the major sins (kaba'ir) in Islam.
As it relates to the issue of zakat in this chapter, the zakat he is talking about here is obviously the pillar (rukn) from the pillars (arkan) of Islam. He is not talking about regular, general charity (sadaqah). Every zakat is sadaqah, but not every sadaqah is zakat.
So this chapter is talking about the zakat which is a pillar from the pillars of Islam.
The Importance of Zakat
The zakat, brothers, is more important in rank (darajah) than Hajj. And it is more important than the rank of fasting. Prayer (salat) is always mentioned with zakat in the Quran.
Linguistic Meaning of Zakat
Zakat in the language of the Arabs means increase (ziyadah) and growth (nama').
So contrary to what many people believe - people who love money, people who love this worldly life (dunya) - they think that when you give money and pay your zakat and your money leaves you, people believe their money is decreased. Even though the Prophet (peace be upon him) told us, whether it is zakat or charity (sadaqah):
Hadith:
Zakat Means Purification
In the Quran and Sunnah, we get the understanding that zakat means linguistically to purify.
Allah described the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and explained some of the functions, some of the responsibilities that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had when he came to us. He said about him in the Quran:
"It is He who sent to the unlettered people a Messenger from amongst themselves - he recites to them His verses, and purifies them (yuzakkihim), and teaches them the Book and Wisdom, although they were before in clear error."
Those people couldn't read or write - the unlettered ones (ummiyoon), they were illiterate. He sent to them a Messenger from amongst themselves. He was a human being and he was Arab, and he was unlettered just as they were. And what was his job? He taught them the Book and he purified them (yuzakkihim).
So, brothers, Allah used the word that zakat comes from to show that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was a purifier.
Everything the Prophet Ordered is Purification
Everything that he ordered us to do is a purification for you. Everything that he made haram and warned us to stay away from is a purification for you if you stay away from it. And everything that you fall into that is haram, or you don't do what he ordered you to do, you become dirty and you bring upon yourself the filth of sins (dhunub) and disobedience (ma'asi).
- To leave the beard is a purification
- To not let your garment hang below your ankles (isbal) and to wear something - whatever it is: pants, a thobe, izar - above your ankle bones is a purification
- One prayer to the next prayer, one Jumu'ah to the next Jumu'ah, one Ramadan to the next Ramadan - is a purification for you
When a person makes wudu, the sins of his hands, his arms, his mouth, his nose, his head, his feet fall off of him as a result of making wudu.
So everything that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered us to do, no matter how big, no matter how small - if you do it, it is purification (tazkiyah) for you. And everything that he told us not to do, if you fall into it, it is something that's going to make you dirty.
Allah says:
"No! Rather, a covering (rust) has come over their hearts from what they used to do."
Reference: Quran 83:14
So anytime a human being falls into sins and disobedience, he gets a black spot on his heart - that is the evidence. If you fall into what is haram, you become dirty. If you do any aspect of the Sunnah of Islam, you become purified, you become clean.
Quranic Command About Zakat
So the meaning of zakat from the Quran, Sunnah, and the language of the Arabs is that zakat means to grow and it also means to purify.
Allah told the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"Take from their wealth charity (sadaqah) so that you can clean them and purify them with it, and invoke Allah for them (make salat upon them). Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them."
Make salawat upon them, O Muhammad, for verily your salawat upon them is tranquility (sakinah) for them. It is something that will make them tranquil.
The Zakat Being Discussed
So that's the meaning of zakat in the language of the Arabs. And that's the zakat that Imam Al-Dhahabi is talking about in this particular chapter. He is not talking about Zakat al-Fitr, even though it is obligatory (wajib). It is the zakat that the person pays with rice or dates or other than that after his fast of Ramadan to purify his fast of Ramadan.
Whoever doesn't pay it, then he didn't complete the total fast of Ramadan because Zakat al-Fitr is a part of that. This is not what Imam Al-Dhahabi is talking about. He's talking about the zakat of our wealth.
First Hadith - From Imam At-Tabarani
Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) - Jabir and his father Abdullah were both companions - narrated an authentic hadith that has been collected by Imam At-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him).
Note on Imam At-Tabarani
For you students of knowledge, Imam At-Tabarani is a scholar of Islam, a scholar of hadith that you should know about. He has three books of hadith:
- Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabeer (The Big Dictionary)
- Al-Mu'jam Al-Sagheer (The Small Dictionary)
- Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat (The Middle Dictionary)
And I'm going to come back and ask you this: In his books of hadith are hadiths that you can't find anywhere else in the world except in his books. So the student of knowledge can't do without the books of Imam At-Tabarani. Each one has its own particular methodology (minhaj) of what he was trying to do.
The Hadith of Jabir
Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was approached by a man, and the man said:
Hadith:
"Ya Rasulullah, what do you think if a man were to give the zakat of his wealth, he paid his zakat - what's going to happen? What's the situation? What happens if a man pays the zakat that he is supposed to pay?"
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever pays the zakat of his wealth, the paying of that zakat will take away the evil of that wealth."
(Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat, Hadith 1551)
All Wealth is Impure Until Purified
So all of the money that you have in your pocket, or that you have saved up, or the property that we have - all of it is dirty until a person purifies it. He purifies it as a result of:
- The way he gets it
- Being thankful when he gets it
- Thanking Allah
- Giving charity (sadaqah)
- Giving zakat with that money he has received
So that hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) also goes to show that zakat in the language of the Arabs means purification. When you give the zakat of your money, it purifies the money that is left with you.
Zakat is a Neglected Science
Zakat, brothers, is a pillar (rukn) from the pillars (arkan) of Islam, and it is a chapter (bab) of knowledge that we have neglected as an ummah. The vast majority of Muslims do not have the slightest idea who pays zakat.
There are people from amongst us who actually think you have to have 10,000 pounds in order to pay or to be responsible for paying zakat. And a person never pays because he says: "I don't have enough money to pay. I'm on public assistance, so I don't have to pay zakat."
But in fact, he has enough money where he should be paying zakat.
We don't study about this issue of zakat:
- What should be paid?
- How it should be paid?
- When it should be paid?
- Who are the eight people that it should be paid to?
It is a chapter (bab) of jurisprudence (fiqh) that, wallahi, the ummah of Islam has neglected it.
Comparison to Inheritance Law
Just like the laws of inheritance (fara'id). In the past, it was common practice for the early Muslims (salaf) to teach little children to memorize the rulings (ahkam) of inheritance (mirath). These are sciences that today, if you call people to come to learn this science, you'll get three or four people who attend. And they'll say: "That knowledge is boring."
Even though it is knowledge with which the religion and the rights of the servants (huquq al-ibad) are protected.
Hadith on the Fitnah of This Ummah
The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us in an authentic hadith:
Hadith:
"Every ummah has a trial (fitnah), and the fitnah of my ummah is wealth."
(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2336)
The people have the religion that is the truth. But as a result of the fitnah of money, a lot of problems we see taking place in the ummah of Islam.
We Were Not Created to Collect Money
Everyone knows that Allah has created us for His worship and His worship alone. And He hasn't created us in order to collect money.
If we look in our community, brothers, to show you the fitnah of the worldly life (dunya): There are those from amongst us who have telephones, landlines in our homes. The father has two mobile phones, or three. Some of us have three mobile phones. The wife has two mobile phones. The child has a mobile phone. And the one who's younger than that has a mobile phone.
With all of those mobiles, for example, the person has to ask himself: "Are these issues from what I really need in order to get on with my life?" It's the fitnah of the dunya. Keeping up with what so-and-so purchased. The latest car, the latest model.
"The regular TV that I have is not enough. I have to get one of the special plasma big-screen TVs" - even though it does not bring me closer to Allah, nor does it give me a better picture in reality. Whatever I watch on a regular TV, I can watch it on the plasma. But that's how it is - the fitnah of the dunya.
Hadith About the Dunya
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Hadith:
"Verily, the dunya is sweet and beautiful like a green pasture. But in that green pasture there is waste here, waste there. There's a hole over here, a hole over there. It's not really what it appears to be. And verily Allah put you people in this dunya
Important Hadith About the Dunya and Akhirah
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), brothers, went through great lengths to tell us, to warn us, to explain to us the reality of the dunya. Don't be a person who doesn't give his money because he's afraid of being impoverished. The dunya is a fitnah.
He said (peace be upon him) - a tremendous hadith, given the reality of the dunya and the reality of people:
Hadith:
"Whoever makes the Hereafter (akhirah) the most important thing to him - he keeps that in his mind, so he prays, he gives zakat, he gives charity, he's patient, he watches what he says, he gets good friends, he tries to come to the masjid, he makes halal halal and haram haram, she wears the hijab, he leaves the beard, and so on - because the akhirah is the most important thing for him. Whoever this is his case, Allah will put riches in his heart, contentment in his heart. Whatever his situation is, he'll be content. And Allah will bring together for him his affairs. His children will memorize Quran, he'll have children who are well-behaved, he'll have children who excel in their school, he'll have a situation in his family life where people are together, he has a functional relationship with all the members of his family, with his community. Allah will bring together for him his affairs, and the dunya will come to him despite itself. The dunya - you'll find it coming to him despite the dunya. And whoever made the dunya the most important thing to him, Allah will put his poverty before his very eyes. And Allah will make his affairs scattered and in disarray. And nothing will come to him from the dunya except what has been decreed upon him."
(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2465)
Evidence from the Quran
So with that being the case, we should make a good effort in trying to accumulate from the dunya what is there to be accumulated, because the dunya is a fitnah.
Imam Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in showing that leaving off paying zakat is a major sin (kabira) from the major sins (kaba'ir) - the statement of Allah in the Quran:
"Woe unto the polytheists (mushrikeen), those who do not give zakat and they do not believe in the Hereafter. They are disbelievers."
Second Verse - About the Monks and Priests
And then Allah mentioned a description of the monks (ahbar), those monks and priests from the Jews and Christians. And He said, proving the point that leaving off zakat is a major sin from the major sins:
"O you who believe, indeed many of the monks and priests from the Jews and Christians - they are those people who hoard up their gold and their silver and they don't spend it in the cause of Allah. And you should give them the glad tidings of a severe punishment. On the day, the Day of Judgment, they will be branded with what they held behind. Their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs. So give them the good news of a grievous penalty."
Even though this verse was revealed describing the monks from the Jews and Christians, nonetheless the benefit of it is that it applies to everyone who falls into that category.
So those are the two evidences from the Quran that Imam Al-Dhahabi brought (may Allah have mercy on him).
Statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), brothers, said:
When he looked at the Quran, he found that Allah many times mentioned the prayer (salat) and he mentioned zakat in so many verses. He would mention the salat and zakat together, showing the importance of both of them, and showing how they both cannot and should not be separated.
Like the statement of Allah:
"Establish the prayer and give the zakat and bow down with those who bow down."
(Quran 2:43)
Just in Surah Al-Baqarah - too many verses.
"Make the prayer and give the zakat, and loan unto Allah a good loan."
(Quran 73:20)
The Quran mentions the salat and zakat so many times.
"If those disbelievers make tawbah and they become Muslims, and they establish the salat and they give the zakat, then they are your brothers in the religion."
(Quran 9:11)
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"You people have been ordered to give the zakat. Whoever doesn't give the zakat, then in fact he has no prayer."
Narrated with authentic chain
So he was of the opinion that if a person prayed but he didn't give zakat and he wasn't one who pays zakat (muzakki), then his prayer was rendered null and void. And that is a position and opinion of some of the scholars of Islam.
Hadith About Not Paying Zakat
Imam Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) now goes into the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to prove not giving zakat is a major sin from the major sins. A number of authentic hadiths he brought.
Hadith:
"There is not a human being, a Muslim, who is the owner of a treasure - camels or cows or sheep - and he doesn't give the zakat for his camels or his sheep or his cows, he holds them back and he doesn't pay the zakat with those products, with those animals - except that on the Day of Judgment, they will be thrown in his face and they will come and they will trample over him with their hooves and they're going to stick him with their horns. Every time one of them goes over him with his horn and his hoof, he's going to go and get back in line until he'll continuously be in that situation until Allah judges between the people on that Day, which will be like 50,000 years."
And the individual who has money, gold, silver, dollars, paper money, pounds, and he doesn't give the zakat:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said in the same hadith that money will be made to come as a snake that has two big lumps on his head or two big lumps on his tail. And he has the ability to stand up on his tail and is going to strike him and bite him. And that will be his reward for not giving the zakat.
The man will be frightened and terrorized and he'll ask the snake: "Who are you? What are you?"
He's going to say: "I'm what you held behind and you didn't give and you didn't pay the zakat on."
Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1403; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 987
This is a Major Sin
So those people who don't give zakat - it is a serious issue in Islam. So Imam Al-Dhahabi clearly made this a major sin (kabira) from the major sins (kaba'ir) because of the description.
We mentioned before: You know that a sin is a major sin from the major sins because:
1. Allah or His Messenger said it
2. Because of the description - something like this taking place wouldn't happen with a small sin or small crime. Allah would not put someone through this type of terror and pain for a small sin or small crime, and He is Al-Lateef, Al-
Rahman, Al-Ghafoor
3. If it has a prescribed punishment (hadd) from the prescribed punishments (hudud) of Islam - if you get your hand chopped off, then that thing is a major sin. If you're stoned, then that thing is a major sin. If you're expelled out of the city, then that thing is a major sin.
Evidence from the Salaf - Abu Bakr's Jihad
The next point: from the actions of the early Muslims (salaf). The Quran, the authentic hadith, now the actions of the salaf.
Imam Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) was on the way of the Righteous Predecessors (Salaf As-Salih). He understood that what the Companions used to do is proof (hujjah) against us.
So he brought the third evidence to show that not giving zakat is a major sin from the major sins:
Narration of Abu Bakr:
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) - of this ummah, the best person of this ummah, the best person from the sons and daughters of Adam after all the Prophets - said he waged war against those people who refrain from giving zakat.
And he said to the Companions when they came to him: "How are you going to fight these people and they say La ilaha illa Allah?"
Abu Bakr said:
"Wallahi, if those people prevent me from a young she-camel (anaq) that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah, wallahi I'm going to fight them for it."
Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1399; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 20
The anaq, brothers, is the female camel that has not reached one year. So a man has 10,000 camels. He gives the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) 200 camels from his 10,000 camels.
During the khilafah of Abu Bakr, the man gives 200 camels as he used to give the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), but he chose to keep one baby camel that should have been given.
Abu Bakr said: "Wallahi, I'll make jihad on him for that one camel. Even though he gave me 200, if he left back one small camel behind or something insignificant that he should have given, then verily I'm going to fight them."
Two Points About This Narration
This narration (athar) of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), brothers, should be understood with two points:
First Point: Abu Bakr Was the Best of This Ummah
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), as I mentioned already, is and was the best of this ummah after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and this is one of the proofs of that.
And on this particular day - the day that the people apostated and left Islam - Abu Bakr was the Jama'ah all by himself. There was an ummah of Muslims, Companions who were there. But Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the Jama'ah.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Jama'ah. What's the Jama'ah?
This Jama'ah says that the truth (haqq) is with them. This group over here says that they're the Jama'ah. The people on this madhab say that they're the Jama'ah. That masjid over there says that they're the Jama'ah.
Who's the Jama'ah?
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said:
"The Jama'ah is the truth, even if you were by yourself upon the truth."
Reported in various sources
So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the Jama'ah on this day when the people left the religion of Islam and they apostated, because all of the Companions were against the fact that he waged war and declared war against the people who didn't give zakat - until he was able to convince them with the proofs that the truth was with them. And then after that, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and others got with the program of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Second Point: Abu Bakr's Tenacity in Following the Sunnah
The second thing about Abu Bakr that is just as important that we want to bring your attention to from this narration (athar) and this incident:
Abu Bakr was well known for his tenacity and holding on to the Sunnah. He was tenacious. He would not move an inch to the right or the left unless he had evidence (dalil) that would allow him to do so. And once he knew what the Sunnah was, he didn't care what people thought about him. And he didn't care how many people were against him.
Obviously he has wisdom (hikmah) and he has knowledge. He's not going to be reckless and destroy things. But Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a man of the Sunnah and he was upon the Sunnah.
In this case, he showed all of the Companions: "What the Prophet (peace be upon him) did, that's what I'm going to do."
When he was going to send the army of Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him), everyone gave him advice because he used to take the advice of the people. Everyone said: "Don't send the army. We need the army to protect Madinah. If the army leaves, we're going to be weak."
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), showing his seriousness about the Sunnah, told the people:
"Wallahi, I will not untie a knot that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) tied."
Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4468
What he did was good enough for me. And that was the truth (haqq) in that particular issue.
Practicing the Sunnah Requires Knowledge
We have in this masjid many brothers who want to practice the Sunnah and they want to be upon the Sunnah. But I have to say to you, brothers: Practicing the Sunnah and being upon the Sunnah requires knowledge of the Sunnah.
One of the things that we see in our masjid that many people do - and we have to begin to ask ourselves, in order to do this or in order to believe in this: Where is the proof that I'm following?
Don't be a copycat. Don't just copy people. Find out why you do what you do.
Example: Moving Forward for a Sutrah
The man is praying in the congregation (jama'ah). And he came and he missed one rak'ah or two rak'ah. After the salam of the imam, that person gets up and he moves forward to take a barrier (sutrah) to the right or the left.
This is not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and it's being done by a person who wants to practice the Sunnah. He has good intent. He wants to practice the command of praying to a sutrah.
But did the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) leave us that as an example? That's for the person who's trying to practice the Sunnah. What about the people who don't have any idea what the Sunnah is? They have no idea.
Example: Reading Quran on Death Anniversary
So when it's a year after the death of a relative, they gather the people together and they read the Quran. "He read some, he read some, he read some." And they believe that that reward is going to go to that dead person. And that's the only time they read the Quran. Every year on the anniversary of a death of someone, they do this.
We have to ask ourselves, brothers: Is that from our religion or it's not from our religion?
We have to be like Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Don't take a step in this religion without knowing why.
Example: Do Angels See Allah?
Someone came to me today and said: "Is it true that the angels (mala'ikah) see Allah?"
Do the angels see Allah? A question that's a knowledge-based question. I said based upon what I know: The angels do not see Allah.
They said: "Someone said that the angels see Allah."
He has a right to say that - maybe he has evidence (dalil). It's your responsibility to ask me, to ask him, to ask that one: Where is the evidence for that? Where is the dalil?
We don't believe and we don't do any forms of worship in this religion without proofs - clear proofs. That's Abu Bakr As- Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), and that's why he's the most knowledgeable of this ummah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Variation of the Narration
So this hadith here says that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If they used to give a young she-camel (ana'a), I'm going to fight them."
Some of the narrations also said that he said: "If they used to give him an iqal" - and the iqal is what is tied around the head. The Arabs used to use it to tie up the leg of animals.
"If they used to give that to the Messenger of Allah and they refused to give it to me, I'm going to fight them."
Quranic Verse About Hoarding Wealth
Allah says:
"Do not think that those people who refuse to give out of that which We've given them from Our virtue - do not believe that when they refrain from giving, it is better for them. In fact, it is worse for them. What they don't give will be tied around their necks on the Day of Judgment from that zakat money that they didn't pay, and they will be punished with it."
Reference: Quran 3:180
Hadith About the Penalty for Not Paying Zakat
The authentic hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
Listen to what happens in the Islamic state when the person doesn't give zakat. He doesn't say zakat shouldn't be given - he believes in zakat, but he says "I'm not going to give it," or he refuses to pay in any way that he refuses. He hides, he doesn't let the person in charge know where he's at.
Hadith:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: The person who prevents himself from giving zakat - we're going to take half of his money and half of his animals as a command that Allah has legislated.
(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1575)
So the penalty for not giving zakat, when the Khalifah or Imam gets a hold of the person, is that he has the right to take half of all of his money as a penalty, and half of all of his animals as a penalty, as a result of preventing himself from the zakat.
Comparison: Rights of a Guest
In the religion of Islam, if someone came to your house as a guest - the guest who you open your door to and you allow him to be your guest - he has a right that you take care of him for three days and three nights.
And the Prophet (peace be upon him) allowed the guest, if his host does not take care of him the proper way (he doesn't feed him, doesn't give him to drink), to take his right from the host. He allowed the one who's the guest to take food, to take drink from the host.
Obviously he can't do it in a way that's going to cause a bigger trial (fitnah). He can't go into the kitchen and his wife is in the kitchen and then claim "I'm going to take my right."
The point is: Islam gave the guest rights (huquq). From the rights of the guest: if the host or hostess doesn't take care of him, he has the right to take what he needs.
If that's the case with the guest, then obviously the obligation (ishra) of zakat - which is the right of Allah, the right of the servants (ibad) - is going to be even more serious.
Conclusion on the Penalty
So from the penalties of not giving zakat, and a proof that it's a major sin from the major sins, is the fact that Islam - Allah has legislated - that the imam, the ruler (hakim), is allowed to take half of the property of a man, his money, as well as his animals.
Last Hadith (Possibly Not Authentic)
Imam Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) brings the last hadith of this chapter, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir:
Hadith:
ثَلَاثَةٌ يَدْخُلُونَ النَّارَ: أَمِيرٌ مُسَلَّطٌ فَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ وَذُو ثَرْوَةٍ مِنَ الْمَالِ لَا يُؤَدِّي حَقَّ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَفَقِيرٌ فَخُورٌ
"And this hadith says that the Prophet says: The first three people who will enter into the Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection will be, number one, the leader (amir) who is oppressive. He is oppressive. The second one is the one who has money but he doesn't give Allah his right. He doesn't pay the zakat. He will be one of the first three people to enter into the Hellfire. And the third one is a poor person who is arrogant (fukhur). A poor person (faqir) who is arrogant. He has nothing to be arrogant about."
Concerning this hadith:
This hadith seems to contradict the hadith that's well known to us - that the first three people will be put into the Hellfire will be:
1. The one who made jihad
2. The one who read the Quran - he had knowledge and read the Quran so that it will be said that he was a reciter (qari) of the Quran
3. The rich man who used to give in order to be seen, and it was said that he was generous
So based upon that, it appears that this hadith is not authentic. But because I don't have my books available to research the hadith, I'm not going to say it's authentic or it's not authentic. Allahu A'lam.
Since Imam Al-Dhahabi brought it last in the chapter, more than likely it seems to be not authentic. In addition to that, he said that Imam Ibn Abi Yahya narrated it alone. It appears that it's not authentic.
But I'm not going to say it's authentic, nor am I going to say that it is not authentic. Allahu A'lam. It seems to go against what is authentic. We don't have the ability to judge that because of the circumstances.
Statement of Abdullah ibn Umar
He brought lastly the narration (athar) of Abdullah ibn Umar, that's similar to the statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud:
Allah has ordered you people to make the prayer and to give the zakat. Whoever doesn't give the zakat, he has no prayer.
That is a valid position concerning the scholars of Islam. That's the chapter of Zakat.
Conclusion and Closing Advice
The next chapter is the chapter of taking care and being diligent to look out for our parents - those people who have given us life, by the permission of Allah and by His grace (bi-idhnillah wa bi-fadlihi).
Before getting into that chapter (because it's one of the longest chapters of the book Kitab Al-Kaba'ir), as it relates to our wealth, brothers:
The money that we have is a trust that Allah has given us. No one is going to die without him collecting all of the money that was written for him.
• So the young man who wants to get married but has financial difficulties, no place to live or to put his wife - he has to be patient
• The one who is needy (miskeen) or poor (faqir) cannot and should not look at people and wish that he had money like that, because if he had money like that, his life is going to be better
• And of course the Muslim should never ever allow himself to play the lottery and to dream: "If I hit the lottery - 14 million pounds - it's going to be all over. 14 million pounds, I'll be the happiest person in the world."
Money is a trial (fitnah), and Allah knows who to give money to and who not to give money to.
Story of the Imam Who Sold Cocaine
You'll be surprised as it relates to the hadith: "Every ummah has a trial, and the trial of my ummah is money."
You'll be surprised at what some Muslims do for money. From what we've come to know from the Muslims is the imam in America who went to the Gulf states and came back with 5 million dollars - almost 20 million riyals - money to build a masjid. But the fitnah of this ummah is money - money to build a masjid.
Five million pounds - used that money to buy cocaine and started selling cocaine.
The Muslim collects the money from the Muslims - Zakat al-Fitr - and he's in charge of Zakat al-Fitr at the door on the day, the last day of Ramadan, the first day of Shawwal. The people will come on the day of Eid rushing, giving him the money. He's taking the people's money - 5 pounds, 5 pounds, everyone 5 pounds, on and on and on - and he only gives the people back half of that money.
In the masjids of the Muslims, people break in and they go into the money boxes and steal the money. They steal the money from the money box in the masjid, because money is a trial for the people in general, except the one who has God- consciousness (taqwa), and the one who realizes: Money is not the goal and the objective, but instead it is a vehicle, whether you have a lot of it or a little.
Hadith About Not Rushing to Gather Money
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about it:
Hadith:
لَا تَعْجَلُوا فَإِنَّهُ لَنْ تَمُوتَ نَفْسٌ حَتَّى تَسْتَكْمِلَ رِزْقَهَا فَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَبِ
"Do not be in haste. Do not try to gather money and just you're rushing, trying to gather money, you're in a panic, and you're doing everything - by hook or crook - just to gather money, working two, three jobs, you're just trying to get the money. Don't do that. I swear by Allah, no soul will die until it has accumulated all of the money that has been written for it. So make a good attempt in bringing the money together. Make a good effort in trying to get the money that you do get, because you're going to be asked about it: How did you spend it? What did you do with it? And it'll come and it'll be an argument against you."
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2144)
Advice to Learn About Zakat
So, brothers, during the course of this year, inshallah - especially as Ramadan gets close - zakat is a chapter (bab) from the chapters of knowledge in Islam that we should take some time out to learn.
We don't have to get deep into it, nor do we have to deal with the issues that don't concern us (like: "If I had 2,000 camels, how much do I give in zakat?" we don't have any camels, so we don't have to deal with that issue).
But in terms of:
• The gold of our wives
• Our property
• Our businesses
• How much money we have
• Who has what and who should pay
These are issues that every Muslim should concern himself with. And he shouldn't look at it as business as usual: "I've never paid zakat, I'm not from the rich people, and I'm not going to give zakat."
Zakat is an obligation, and it is a major obligation - more important than Ramadan, more important than Hajj. It's been connected with the prayer, which is the most important pillar from the pillars of practical actions (arkan al-amaliyah).
Hadith About Slaves of Money
Hadith:
تَعِسَ عَبْدُ الدِّينَارِ وَعَبْدُ الدِّرْهَم وَعَبْدُ الْخَمِيصَةِ إِنْ أُعْطِيَ رَضِيَ وَإِن لَّمْ يُعْطَ سَخِطَ
"Destroyed is the slave of the dinar, the slave of the dirham, the slave of his clothes. If he is given, he becomes happy. If he's not given, he becomes upset. They will be destroyed."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2887)
The one who is a slave of the dinar, the one who is the slave of the dirham, the one who is the slave of his clothes - he's a slave of his clothes, he has the nicest clothes.
Example of Being Slave to Clothes
If you go - and this is just an example, this is not to pick on any particular group, but it is a fact - if you go to the countries like in the Gulf states where the people wear the head covering (gutra):
Covering your head is from Islam, and it's from the etiquette of being a man (ar-rajula) in Islam. But when did the Muslims ever become preoccupied to the point where the Muslim is always looking in the mirror, fixing his gutra all the time?
Whoever wears a gutra, wherever he is - nothing wrong with wearing a gutra. But when the person becomes preoccupied in the prayer and he's in the mirror...
Women - that's the characteristics of the women, and they're not criticized for that. They should try to look beautiful and smell beautiful. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) said about the men:
Hadith:
الْبَذَاذَةُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ
"Simplicity (al-badhadhah) is from faith."
Reference: Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4161
Al-Badhadhah means to leave yourself without combing your hair and your beard. Al-Badhadhah means not to put oil on yourself, to go disheveled sometimes.
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said about the Prophet (peace be upon him):
(Reported in various sources)
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to walk barefooted sometimes."
Reference: Reported in various sources
If something fell on the ground that he was eating, he would pick it up and wipe it off, and he would eat it.
Being Prepared
With a personality like that, when it was time for jihad, when it was time to command the good (ma'ruf), to stop the evil (munkar), when it was time to make a serious effort to protect himself, his family, the religion - he was ready. And those who were with him were ready.
But when this worldly life became the most important thing to the Muslim man:
- He can't sit down in his chair until he gets a napkin and he wipes the chair off
- He can't do anything except he has to look slim and trim and fit
This is permissible - to stay in shape - but not to go overboard. The one who was slave to his clothes has been lost.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If he is given, he becomes happy. If he's not given money, he becomes upset.
The Dinar, Dollar, and Dirham Should Not Be Most Important
So the dinar, the dollar, and the dirham should not be the most important thing to the Muslim. And the Muslim realizes that the most important thing is the worship of Allah. And all of these issues are means (wasa'il).
So those of us who have money but our money has not reached the level of giving zakat - still you should give charity (sadaqah) from what you do have. The charity that you do have will cause more money to be given to you.
Everyone knows that Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) was from the poorest of the Muslims, and yet the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to tell him:
"O Bilal, give money and money will be given back to you."
Reference: Various sources
If you give what you have, Allah will increase your money, even if you don't have that much.
Closing
So we're going to stop on this particular chapter here.
Question and Answer Session
Question: Do we have to give zakat on our cars?
You don't have to give zakat on your cars. A car - you can't make analogy (qiyas) of a car with a camel. You can't make qiyas of a car with a camel because there is a text (nass) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) told the people: If you have these many camels, you have to give these many camels in zakat. This many cows, you have to give these many cows in zakat. These many sheep, you have to give these many sheep in zakat.
And you can't make qiyas or analogy because it's a riding beast with the car, because they didn't use that just as a riding beast. Maybe the camels were just for his property - it was his money. He didn't ride that. He had a horse, for example.
So you don't have to give zakat for your car.
Question: Is Ramadan the only time to give zakat?
Some people believe that Ramadan is the only time from the conditions of zakat - that you have to have enough money and also a year has to go around with that same money being with you.
Many people believe that Ramadan is the only time that you can give zakat - at the end of Ramadan or during the month of Ramadan - and that's not the case. That is not the case.
The person can give zakat after he had his money for a year, no matter what month that it fell in. But it was from the practice of the early Muslims (salaf) that because Ramadan is one of those months that has a lot of mercy and a lot of reward (ajr) in it, that the people gave their zakat in this month. But it's not a condition to do so.
Question: How much do you have to give?
The person who has to give zakat has to give 2.5% of his money - 2.5% of his money that stayed with him for a year.
As we mentioned in the lesson, brothers, the issue of zakat is an issue where doing Q&A is not where you get appreciation and understanding of the chapter of zakat. You have to learn it chapter by chapter, issue by issue.
So we can answer questions here, but again, the way you really understand the issue of zakat is by studying the chapter itself.
Question: What's the difference between kabir and kaba'ir?
The difference between kabir and kaba'ir:
- Kabir is one major sin - it's the singular
- Kaba'ir is the plural of that one word
So you say: "Adultery (zina) is a kabir." "Adultery, killing, and magic are 3 kaba'ir."
Question: Who are the 8 types of people that should receive zakat?
Anybody a memorizer (hafidh) of the Quran?
In Surah At-Tawbah, Allah mentioned the 8 categories (asnaf) who take zakat:
"Indeed, the charities are for:
- The poor (fuqara')
- The needy (masakin)
- Those employed to collect it
- Those whose hearts are to be reconciled
- For freeing slaves
- Those in debt (gharimin)
- In the cause of Allah (fi sabil Allah)
- The traveler (ibn al-sabil)"
Reference: Quran 9:60
Explanation:
- The needy (miskeen) is a poor person but he has enough to eat for that day. He has something.
- The poor (faqir) is the one who doesn't have anything. He is dirt broke. He has nothing at all - nothing to eat, nothing.
The zakat is for those two.
- The traveler (wafer) - he is lost in the streets trying to get back to his country. He is here but he is trying to get back to Somalia and he doesn't have any money. We can give him zakat.
- Inclining hearts (mu'allafat qulubuhum) - for the person you are trying to incline their hearts towards Islam. Disbelievers - they don't believe in Islam but you want to bring them to the religion, so you give them money from the zakat.
- The collector - for the person who goes out for the Muslim state and he collects zakat.
- Those in debt (gharimin) - for the one who owes some money so you want to get him out of debt. So he can ask for the zakat money and you can give the zakat.
It's for those 8 people. And that verse is in Surah At-Tawbah.
Question: If you don't have the ability to do an act of worship, do you still have to do it?
If you don't have the ability to do an act of worship (ibadah) from the worship of Islam, then you don't have to do it - whether it's zakat or other than that. You pray according to your ability:
- If you only can pray sitting down, you pray sitting down
- If you pray lying down, that's all you can do - you pray lying down
The sister doesn't have to make Hajj until she has her own money and until she has a male guardian (mahram).
So anything in Islam, if you don't have the ability to do it, Allah doesn't make you responsible for doing it.
Question: Do you pay zakat on the house?
As for paying zakat on the house - these are the type of issues that in the month when we deal with zakat, we're going to explain. You don't have to pay zakat on your house.
Issues of stocks and bonds and issues like that - these questions, you can't just come and give a question. We have to learn the chapter, the section of zakat. And then you'll get a better and fuller appreciation of the topic itself.
Question: What about cars for business?
As for a person whose inventory - he has cars and he has to pay zakat: If his business is selling cars, then that property that he has, he has to pay zakat. He has to pay zakat on that property.
Question: People asking for money around the Kaaba - deception?
I spoke to a person recently who returned from Umrah. And he was telling me that time and time again, in and around the Kaaba, he was approached by all kinds of people saying: "Brother, I'm lost. I've lost my money. Someone's taken my money. I need to get back to my homeland." All kinds of excuses. And he said that he felt that a lot of this was deception. He was advised by people to ignore them.
What's the position on this, especially in the Haram area?
Answer:
The person has to try to have some wisdom (hikmah). If he feels that the person is pulling a scam, then he doesn't pay at all - no honor to him (wala karama). He feels that the person is lying, cheating - then he doesn't give him the money. And he looks for those people who are deserving of the money, or they appear to be deserving of the money.
But if he chooses to give the money, he'll get his reward with Allah.
Everyone knows the hadith of the man who came and gave charity one night to the adulteress (zaniyah). And then he gave charity to a rich man. And the people said the charity was given to the rich man. He said: "Alhamdulillah for the rich man."
And then the third day he gave money to a person who was a thief. And then they said the money was given to a thief. He said: "Alhamdulillah for the thief."
- As for the adulteress: "I hope that she takes the money and she stops making adultery"
- As for the rich man: "I hope he takes that money and realizes that he has to give charity from his money"
- As for the one who's a thief: "I hope he takes that money and it helps him to leave off stealing"
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1421
So Allah will reward the person based upon his intention (niyyah). But he has a responsibility to choose the right person.
Because Allah - the Prophet (peace be upon him) - told us that people will make supplication and Allah will answer their supplication, and one of them he said was the man who gave a foolish person (safi) his money.
And Allah said in the Quran:
"Don't give the foolish ones (sufaha) your money."
Reference: Quran 4:5
So that guy who's going around stealing - and you know he's like that - and you give him the money - you can possibly fall into this hadith, if you know.
Because you saw him doing it to him, he's doing it to him, and he's doing it to him, as we've seen before. In our tent in Hajj, the lady came with a niqab on and she was asking for money. So at another tent, without the niqab on, and she was asking for money. And that's the job of some of the people.
May Allah grant us well-being and safety (al-afiyah was-salamah).
Question: In the categories, what does "fi sabil Allah" mean?
Answer:
Concerning the issue of في سَبِيلِ اللهِ (fi sabil Allah - in the cause of Allah):
It's clear that the people who are out in the way of Allah making jihad - it's clear that that's from the first group.
But some of the scholars later on said that fi sabil Allah also means:
- It could mean being a student of knowledge, that he can get the zakat, even though he's not making jihad
- Fi sabil Allah can be an individual who built a school, so he can get the zakat
- Fi sabil Allah could be the one who built the masjid, so the money can be given to the masjid
Some of the scholars said: "No, you can't do that. Fi sabil Allah is clear - fi sabil Allah means the one who is fighting in the cause of Allah."
But those people who say you can give it to a student of knowledge or a school or a masjid - they have proof where these situations were called similar situations were called fi sabil Allah.
And Allah knows best.
End of Khutbah