combine what is separate in order to avoid the levy.
3 – Allah the Exalted has commanded the payment of zakāt, saying: “And give its due on the day of its harvest” (Q 6:141). A divine command implies immediate execution whenever one is able to pay, and this is the position of the three imams—Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad.
4 – If, however, there is a genuine need to defer it, postponement is permissible—such as an anticipated dire necessity, the imminent arrival of a relative, the absence of a neighbour, the unavailability of the wealth itself, and the like.
5 – Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr states: “There is no disagreement within the school that handing it over to the imam is permissible, whether he is just or unjust, and whether the wealth is manifest or concealed. One is acquitted by delivering it to him, whether it is subsequently lost in the imam’s possession or whether he spends it in the proper channels or not.”
6 – The ḥadith shows that whoever pays zakāt willingly, seeking reward from Allah, has fulfilled one of the great pillars of Islam and will receive tremendous recompense.
7 – Conversely, whoever withholds it has demolished a pillar of Islam and abandoned an important religious obligation; he incurs the grave burden of that sin.
8 – The imam must discipline the zakāt-evader. Part of that discipline is to take the zakāt from him by force and to confiscate half of his wealth as punishment and deterrence for him and those like him.
9 – Imposing a financial penalty is therefore permissible; the scope of discretionary punishment is broad and varies with circumstances.
10 – His words, “ʿazmah min ʿazamāti rabbinā,” mean that it is a firmly decreed limit set by our Lord, to be enforced without hesitation.
11 – Zakāt is unlawful for Muḥammad ﷺ and for his family—the descendants of Hāshim—because it is people’s impurities, and they are above accepting such things. This will be discussed in greater detail, if Allah wills.
12 – Shaykh al-Islām said: “Financial penalties fall into three categories: First, destruction—eliminating the locus of the forbidden act along with the act itself, such as smashing and burning idols, demolishing musical instruments, and tearing apart vessels of wine,”}