الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُم بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ (7)
(41:7) who do not pay Zakah, *9 and who deny the Hereafter.
*9) Here, the meaning of the word zakat has been disputed by the commentators. Ibn `Abbas and his illustrious pupils, `Ikrimah and Mujahid, say that zakat here implies the purity of the soul and self which accrues from belief in Tauhid and obedience to Allah. According to this explanation, the translation of the verse would be: "Woe to the mushriks, who do not adopt purity." The other group which includes commentators like Qatadah, Suddi, Hasan Basri, Dahhak, Muqatil and Ibn as-Sa'ib take this word here also in the meaning of the zakat on property and wealth. According to this explanation, the verse means: "Woe to those who do not fulfil the right of Allah by committing shirk and the right of the men by withholding the zakat.