O Muslim, discharge the zakat on your wealth with a willing heart and hopeful expectation of reward. Count it as pure profit for both this world and the next, and never see it as a burden. Allah the Exalted says: “Among the Bedouins are those who regard what they spend as a fine and who await disasters to befall you; upon them shall fall the circle of evil—Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Yet among the Bedouins are others who believe in Allah and the Last Day and regard what they spend as a means of drawing near to Allah and of earning the prayers of the Messenger. Indeed, it is a means of nearness for them; Allah will admit them into His mercy. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Qur’an 9:98–99).

Both groups actually pay zakat, but Allah will deal with each according to his intention and purpose. The first group part with their wealth grudgingly, treating it as a compulsory levy by which they merely camouflage their true stance toward Islam while waiting for calamity to strike the Muslims. Their recompense is that the very calamity they wish for others will circle back upon them; they forfeit any reward and lose their wealth into the bargain. The believers, by contrast, view zakat as a means of attaining closeness to their Lord. For them the reward is preserved, and whatever they spend is replaced with something better: “Indeed, it is a means of nearness for them; Allah will admit them into His mercy” because of their noble intention and lofty aim.

Therefore fear Allah, O Muslim, and let these meanings permeate your heart: “And lend to Allah a goodly loan; whatever good you send ahead for yourselves, you will find it with Allah, better and greater in reward. Seek Allah’s forgiveness, for Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Qur’an 73:20).