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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Fussilat 41:7

Word by word

ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُم بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ كَـٰفِرُونَ

Those who do not give zakāh, and in the Hereafter they are disbelievers.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Call to Tawhid Allah says,قُلْ(Say) `O Muhammad, to these disbelievers and idolators,'إِنَّمَآ أَنَاْ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـهُكُمْ إِلَـهٌ وَاحِدٌ(I am only a human being like you. It is revealed to me that your God is One God,) `not like these idols and false gods which you worship. Allah is one God,'فَاسْتَقِيمُواْ إِلَيْهِ(therefore take straight path to Him) means, `worship Him Alone sincerely, in accordance with what He has commanded you through His Messengers.'وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ(and seek forgiveness of Him) means, `for your past sins.'وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ(And woe to the polytheists.) means, doom and destruction is their lot.الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَوةَ(Those who give not the Zakah) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that this means those who do not bear witness that there is no God except Allah. This was also the view of `Ikrimah. This is like the Ayat:قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّـهَا - وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّـهَا (Indeed he succeeds who purifies himself.

And indeed he fails who corrupts himself.) (91:9-10) And;قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى - وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى (Indeed whosoever purifies himself shall achieve success. And remembers (glorifies) the Name of his Lord, and prays.) (87:14-15) And;فَقُلْ هَل لَّكَ إِلَى أَن تَزَكَّى (And say to him: "Would you purify yourself") (79:18) What is meant by Zakah here is purification of the soul, ridding oneself of all bad qualities, the worst of which is Shirk. The Zakah paid on one's wealth is so called because it purifies wealth, and it is a means of increasing it, blessing it and making it more beneficial, and a means of assisting one to use it in doing good deeds. Qatadah said, "They withheld the Zakah of their wealth." This is the apparent meaning according to many of the scholars of Tafsir, and this is the view favored by Ibn Jarir. But the matter is subject to further examination, because the obligation of Zakah was instituted during the second year after the Hijrah to Al-Madinah, according to what is stated by several scholars. Yet this Ayah was revealed in Makkah.

However, it is not unlikely that the principle of giving charity and Zakah was already in place and had been enjoined at the beginning of the Prophet's mission, as Allah says:وَءَاتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ(but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest) (6:141). As for the details of Zakah and how it is to be calculated according to the Nusub, were explained in Al-Madinah. This is how we may reconcile between the two opinions. Similarly, prayer was originally enjoined before sunrise and before sunset at the beginning of the Prophet's mission; it was only on the Night of the Isra', a year and a half before the Hijrah, that Allah enjoined upon His Messenger the five daily prayers. The conditions and essential elements of prayer were explained later, in stages. And Allah knows best.

Then Allah says:إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ (Truly, those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them will be an endless reward that will never stop.) Mujahid and others said, "It will never be cut off or decrease." This is like the Ayat:مَّاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا (They shall abide therein for ever.) (18:3)عَطَآءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ(a gift without an end) (11:108)

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Toward the end of the address, both the aspects of glad tidings and of warnings of the Qur'n have been presented to them, making it clear that there are dire consequences for the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) and eternal rewards for the believers. In the context of the evil fate of the Mushriks, one reason for it has been mentioned that these people did not use to pay Zakah. This gives rise to some questions. The first one is that these verses were revealed in Makkah, whereas Zakah was made obligatory in Madinah. So, how can they be accused of non-payment of Zakah before Zakah was made obligatory?

Ibn Kathir, in reply to this question, has said that Zakah, in principle, had been obligated along with Salah right from the beginning of Islam, as mentioned in Surah Muzzammil. However the determination of the Nisab (minimum capital and property for the applicability of Zakah) and the arrangements for its collection were made in Madinah. Therefore it is not correct to say that Zakah was not obligated in Makkah.

Are Non-Muslims required to follow the practical injunctions of Shari'ah?

The second doubt is that many jurisprudents do not consider Non-Muslims to have been asked or required to carry out religious deeds such as Salah, Fasting, Hajj and Zakah. The direction is that they have to embrace the faith first, and then they are liable to the practical precepts of Shari'ah. According to this view, they are not liable to pay zakah. Why then have they been reprimanded for not paying Zakah in this verse?

It can be said in reply that many of the leading scholars and experts of Islamic jurisprudence are of the view that even the Non-Muslims are required to carry out the obligatory duties of religion; If this view is adopted, there remains no doubt about this verse that has mentioned non-payment of zakah as one of the reasons for their being punished. As for those scholars who do not consider Non-Muslims to have been asked to carry out the obligatory duties, they can say that the real denunciation is not for non-payment of Zakah, but because this non-payment is due to their disbelief and is a sign of it. Therefore the object of the reprimand is that had they been believers, they would have been strict in paying Zakah; their fault is their failure to embrace the faith. (Bayan-ul-Qur’ an).

The detailed discussion of whether or not the infidels have been asked to follow the practical precepts of Shari` ah may be found in the fifth volume of the author's Arabic book "Ahkam-ul-Qur’ an".

The third question which arises here is that the commandment for Salah is the most important of all the commandments of Islam which has not been mentioned here, so what is the wisdom behind making a special mention of Zakah? Qurtubi etc., have said in reply that Quraysh of Arabia were wealthy people, and they were known for their trait of giving alms and charity and helping the poor. But when somebody would become a Muslim, they would deprive him of such financial help and social assistance also. Zakah has been specially mentioned because the object is to denounce this practice. (Allah knows best)

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

قل لهم -أيها الرسول-: إنما أنا بشر مثلكم يوحي الله إليَّ أنما إلهكم الذي يستحق العبادة، إله واحد لا شريك له، فاسلكوا الطريق الموصل إليه، واطلبوا مغفرته. وعذاب للمشركين الذين عبدوا من دون الله أوثانًا لا تنفع ولا تضر، والذين لم يطهروا أنفسهم بتوحيد ربهم، والإخلاص له، ولم يصلُّوا ولم يزكَّوا، فلا إخلاص منهم للخالق ولا نفع فيهم للخلق، وهم لا يؤمنون بالبعث، ولا بالجنة والنار، ولا ينفقون في طاعة الله.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

( الذين لا يؤتون الزكاة ) قال علي بن أبي طلحة ، عن ابن عباس : يعني : الذين لا يشهدون أن لا إله إلا الله . وكذا قال عكرمة .وهذا كقوله تعالى : ( قد أفلح من زكاها وقد خاب من دساها ) [ الشمس : 9 ، 10 ] ، وكقوله : ( قد أفلح من تزكى وذكر اسم ربه فصلى ) [ الأعلى : 14 ، 15 ] ، وقوله ( فقل هل لك إلى أن تزكى ) [ النازعات : 18 ] والمراد بالزكاة هاهنا : طهارة النفس من الأخلاق الرذيلة ، ومن أهم ذلك طهارة النفس من الشرك . وزكاة المال إنما سميت زكاة لأنها تطهره من الحرام ، وتكون سببا لزيادته وبركته وكثرة نفعه ، وتوفيقا إلى استعماله في الطاعات .وقال السدي : ( وويل للمشركين الذين لا يؤتون الزكاة ) أي : لا يدينون بالزكاة .وقال معاوية بن قرة : ليس هم من أهل الزكاة .وقال قتادة : يمنعون زكاة أموالهم .وهذا هو الظاهر عند كثير من المفسرين ، واختاره ابن جرير .

وفيه نظر ; لأن إيجاب الزكاة إنما كان في السنة الثانية من الهجرة إلى المدينة ، على ما ذكره غير واحد وهذه الآية مكية ، اللهم إلا أن يقال : لا يبعد أن يكون أصل الزكاة الصدقة كان مأمورا به في ابتداء البعثة ، كقوله تعالى : ( وآتوا حقه يوم حصاده ) [ الأنعام : 141 ] ، فأما الزكاة ذات النصب والمقادير فإنما بين أمرها بالمدينة ، ويكون هذا جمعا بين القولين ، كما أن أصل الصلاة كان واجبا قبل طلوع الشمس وقبل غروبها في ابتداء البعثة ، فلما كان ليلة الإسراء قبل الهجرة بسنة ونصف ، فرض الله على رسوله [ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - ] الصلوات الخمس ، وفصل شروطها وأركانها وما يتعلق بها بعد ذلك ، شيئا فشيئا ، والله أعلم .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.