Ironing For Not Performing Zakat

أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ يَقُولُا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا مِنْ صَاحِبِ ذَهَبٍ وَلَا فِضَّةٍ لَا يُؤَدِّي مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ صُفِّحَتْ لَهُ صَفَائِحُ مِنْ نَارٍ فَأُحْمِيَ عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَيُكْوَى بِهَا جَنْبُهُ وَجَبِينُهُ وَظَهْرُهُ كُلَّمَا بَرَدَتْ أُعِيدَتْ لَهُ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ حَتَّى يُقْضَى بَيْنَ الْعِبَادِ فَيَرَى سَبِيلَهُ إِمَّا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَإِمَّا إِلَى النَّارِ 

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “If any owner of gold or silver does not pay what is due on it, when the Day of Resurrection comes, irons of fire will be forged for him; they will be heated in the fire of Jahannam (one of the degrees of Hell), and his stomach, forehead, and back will be burned by them. Every time the irons are cold, they are reheated in the fire and will be returned to be used on him every day - a day whose extent will be fifty thousand years - until judgment is pronounced among mankind, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell."

Narrated in Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 1647

Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Translation adapted from sunnah.com

Reflections:

1. The property unto which zakat (akin to tithe) is obligatory are gold and silver, crops, fruits, livestock, savings, and treasures.

2. People who own property such as gold and silver and who have enough nisab and haul but do not pay zakat, henceforth on the Day of Judgment, irons of fire forged in Hell will be made for them and used on their stomachs, foreheads, and backs.

*Nisab: the market value of 86 grams of gold.

**Haul: a term to describe the duration of one Hijri year.

3. Whenever the irons turn cold, they will be reheated and applied again, every day (whereby a day equals fifty thousand years in this world).

4. In the Qur'an, it is narrated that the body of a person who does not pay zakat will be burned (roasted) in Hell with his own property that has been heated. As Allah Ta’ala says:

وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنزونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلا يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (34) يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَذَا مَا كَنزتُمْ لأنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنزونَ (35)

"And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment. The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], ‘This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard.’" - Quran 9:34-35 (translation taken from Saheeh International)