Chapter: Emphasizing the Obligation of Zakāh, Clarifying Its Virtue, and Related Rulings

[Explanation]
Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy on him, states in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: “Chapter on Emphasizing the Obligation of Zakāh, its Virtue, and Matters Connected to It.”

Zakāh is the third pillar of Islam, as the Prophet ﷺ declared in the ḥadith of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with them both: “Islam has been built upon five: bearing witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, and paying zakāh….” Allah, Exalted is He, frequently mentions zakāh together with prayer in the Noble Quran. Because of this, the scholars—may Allah have mercy on them—differed as to whether someone who refuses to pay it falls into disbelief, just as the one who abandons the prayer does, or not; there are two opinions on the issue.

Zakāh is defined as worshipping Allah Most High by paying a specified amount out of specified types of wealth. The amount is fixed: a quarter of one-tenth, one-half of one-tenth, or a full one-tenth.

It is likewise to be given to a designated category of recipients, as will be detailed, Allah willing. Zakāh brings enormous benefits, among them the completion of a person’s Islam, for it is one of the pillars of the religion. It is also superior to voluntary charity: if a person were to pay one hundred riyals as obligatory zakāh or one hundred riyals as a voluntary donation, the hundred riyals paid as zakāh would be more beloved to Allah and of greater virtue.