Short answer
Zakat is fard, so withholding it is a major sin that the Quran and hadith warn about severely, and denying that it is obligatory takes a person out of Islam. Unpaid zakat stays a debt owed to Allah. In the Hanafi fatwa view, delaying it without an excuse once it is due is also a sin.
Zakat is fard by the Quran, the Sunnah and consensus. Whoever denies that it is obligatory is a disbeliever; whoever believes in it but withholds it is a sinner (fasiq). The fatwa position is that it must be paid promptly once due, so delay without an excuse is sinful.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- If someone dies with zakat unpaid, it is taken from the estate before the inheritance is shared, like any other debt.
- Hanbali
- Unpaid zakat is taken from the estate of the deceased before inheritance, whether or not he left a will.
Explanation
Zakat is the third pillar of Islam and is named beside prayer again and again in the Quran. Every adult Muslim who owns the nisab for a lunar year must pay it. It is not a voluntary extra.
The warnings are some of the strongest in the Quran. Those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah's way are told that it will be heated in the Fire and pressed against their foreheads, sides and backs. The Prophet ﷺ said that wealth whose zakat was not paid will come on the Day of Resurrection as a bald serpent that coils around its owner and says: I am your wealth, I am your treasure. After his death, Abu Bakr fought the tribes that refused to pay zakat, and the Companions agreed with him.
In this world, the zakat does not go away. It stays owed for every year it was missed; see missed zakat from past years. In the Hanafi fatwa view, zakat must be paid as soon as it is due, so holding it back without a reason is a sin even if you pay later.
If someone dies without paying it, the Hanafi school says that zakat is an act of worship needing the owner's intention, so the heirs are not forced to pay it from the estate unless he left a will (wasiyyah) for it, in which case it is paid from up to a third. Heirs may still pay it from their own shares, and it is hoped Allah accepts it. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools take it from the whole estate first.
If you have fallen behind, do not despair. Repent, work out what you owe, and start paying now.
The evidence
Quran, Surah At-Tawba 9:35
يَوْمَ يُحْمَىٰ عَلَيْهَا فِى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَىٰ بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ ۖ هَٰذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا۟ مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ ﴿٣٥﴾
The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."
The punishment for hoarding wealth on which Allah's right was not paid.
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:180
وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ هُوَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُم ۖ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّهُمْ ۖ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَٰثُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌۭ ﴿١٨٠﴾
And let not those who [greedily] withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them. Their necks will be encircled by what they withheld on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, with what you do, is [fully] Acquainted.
Withholding what Allah has given will be a burden on the Day of Resurrection.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1403
Sahih... من آتاه الله مالا فلم يؤد زكاته مثل له يوم القيامة شجاعا أقرع ...
"Whoever is given wealth by Allah and does not pay its zakat, his wealth will be made into a bald serpent for him on the Day of Resurrection."
The Prophet's warning for anyone who withholds zakat.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1399
Sahih... والله لأقاتلن من فرق بين الصلاة والزكاة ...
"By Allah, I will fight whoever separates prayer from zakat."
Abu Bakr's words when tribes refused zakat, showing it is as binding as prayer.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, opening section. Zakat is fard; the fatwa is that it is due promptly, so delay without an excuse is sinful.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Wasaya. Duties owed to Allah that the deceased willed are paid from a third of the estate.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on one who dies owing zakat. The Hanbali position that it is paid from the estate.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.