is the truth, and every religion that differs from it is false. He also said: The clearest manifestation of this is that the various forms of polytheism fall under two religions: the religion of the People of the Book and the religion of the unlettered people. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, subdued the unlettered people until they entered Islam, willingly or unwillingly; and he killed and took captives from among the People of the Book, until some of them entered Islam, while others paid the jizya tax in submission and came under his rule. This is its prevailing over every religion. And Allah knows best.
“O you who believe, indeed many rabbis and monks consume people’s wealth wrongfully and turn others away from the way of Allah. As for those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, give them tidings of a painful punishment.” (34)
Regarding His saying, Most High: “O you who believe, indeed many rabbis and monks”: that is, the scholars and religious readers among the People of the Book. “They consume people’s wealth wrongfully”—meaning, they take (1) bribes in their legal rulings; they alter the Book of Allah and write books with their own hands, saying, “This is from Allah,” and thereby receive a small price from their lowly followers. These are the worldly gains they obtain by altering the description of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, for they fear that if they acknowledged him as truthful, those gains would be taken away from them. “And they turn others away”: they divert people “from the way of Allah,” that is, the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
“As for those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, give them tidings of a painful punishment.” Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Any wealth on which zakat (obligatory alms) is paid is not hoarded treasure, even if it is buried; and any wealth on which zakat is not paid is hoarded treasure, even if it is not buried.” The same is narrated from Ibn Abbas.
Isma'il ibn Abd al-Qahir informed us; Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad informed us; Muhammad ibn Isa al-Juludi informed us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan related to us; Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj related to us; Suwayd ibn Sa'id related to me; Hafs ibn Maysarah related to us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, that Abu Salih ibn Dhakwan informed him that he heard Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no owner of gold or silver who does not pay what is due on it but that, on the Day of Resurrection, plates of fire will be prepared for him and heated in the fire of Hell; then his forehead and back will be branded with them. Whenever they cool, they will be reheated for him, on a day whose measure is fifty thousand years, until Allah judges between His servants. He will then see his path, either to Paradise or to the Fire.
“And there is no owner of camels who does not pay what is due on them—and part of what is due on them is milking them on the day they come to water—but that, on the Day of Resurrection, he will be laid out for them upon a level plain. They will be at their greatest number, with not a single weaned calf missing; they will trample him with their hooves and bite him with their mouths. Whenever a group passes over him”