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Does the state punish those who do not pay Zakat, or is their punishment limited to the Hereafter?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

One who withholds zakat is punished in this world and the Hereafter. The state has the right to chastise and imprison him until he discloses his wealth. If he withholds it out of stinginess while under the state's authority, zakat is forcibly taken from him and he is punished. Scholars differ on taking half of his wealth as a punishment. However, if he is outside the state's authority, he is fought over it. If he denies its obligation, then if he is ignorant, he is informed of the ruling; otherwise, he is judged to be an apostate and considered an apostate.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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