Fuṣṣilat

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَی إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَاسْتَقِيمُوا إِلَيْهِ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ وَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ

الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ

6. Say [O Prophet (S)]: “I am only a human being like you [the difference is that] it is revealed to me that your God is One God; therefore take the Straight Path toward Him and seek forgiveness of Him and woe to the polytheists.
7. Those who give not the alms tax and they are disbelievers in the Hereafter.

In Qur’anic terms, indifference toward a number of Divine Commands is regarded as disbelief and polytheism. It is said concerning pilgrimage to Mecca that:

Regarding non-performance of daily prayers, the Messenger of God (S) said:

“Any Muslim who fails to perform obligatory prayers is on a par with disbelievers.” ⁶

Concerning failing to pay alms tax, the blessed Verse in question reads:

Alms tax (zakat) is a source of revenue for the Islamic government and failing to settle the same will be equal to failing to recognize the monotheism or disbelieving in the Hereafter which is on a par with disbelief. It is worthy of note that the blessed Verse in question is addressed to the exalted Messenger of Allah (S), asking him to say unto those who are in error and raise objections against you saying that you eat, sleep, and marry like them, assuming that you are like them, pursuing pleasures of the flesh, such as property, exalted ranks, sovereignty and you lay claims to divinity.

Say unto them that you are neither an angel nor a genie, but you are a human being like them in terms of eating, sleeping, and other natural acts. Your only privilege is that Divine Revelation is communicated to you. Your Creator, Origin, and Resurrection are the same. You are supposed to worship him and solely invoke Him for support. It is a quite logical and clear statement. If you render the veil of arrogance, bias, and ignorance and be moderate in human attributes and turn away from bestial desires, you will perceive through your intellect and conscience that your source of support is the One who brought you from non-existence into existence and everything lies within His Omnipotence.

Thus, you will perceive the manifestation of His Unity emanated to all beings. The blessed Verse closes with an injunction to mankind as to perseverance in their belief in monotheism and invoke God Almighty to forgive their sins as polytheists and disbelievers will be sunk in denigration and humility. Verse 7 treats of polytheists’ attributes: failure to pay alms tax and denial of the Hereafter. The blessed Verse explicitly indicates that paying alms tax serves as a trial for believers’ belief in the Hereafter, since mundane property is loved by people and it may not be easily forsaken.

According to the Noble Prophet of Islam (S),

“Failing to pay alms tax is on a par with disloyalty and polytheism.” ⁷

As per another Prophetic tradition,

“One who does not pay any alms tax will die a Jew or a Christian.” ⁸