سورة التوبة

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Any wealth whose zakat is paid is not counted as a hoard, even if it is buried beneath seven earths; and any wealth whose zakat is not paid is counted as a hoard, even if it is on the surface of the earth.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Any wealth whose zakat is not paid is a hoard, even if it is out in the open; and any wealth whose zakat is paid is not a hoard, even if it is buried in the heart of the earth.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ الَّذِینَ یَکْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَ الْفِضَّةَ [And those who hoard gold and silver] — indeed what He meant by that is any amount that exceeds two thousand dirhams.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): More than four thousand is a hoard (kanz), whether its zakat is paid or not. And an amount less than that is [permitted] spending.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) was asked about the dinar and the dirham, and how much of them people are obliged to give. He said: "They are Allah's trust upon His earth, and Allah has placed them for the benefit of His creation, and by means of them their affairs and needs are set in order. Whoever has a large amount of them in his possession and has fulfilled the right of Allah the Mighty and Majestic concerning them and has paid their zakat, that money is pure and lawful for him. And whoever possesses a great amount of them but is miserly with them and does not pay the right of Allah from them and uses them for constructing buildings, he is the one against whom the threat and warning of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in His Book will be carried out. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ [On the day when it shall be heated in the fire of hell, then their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it: This is what you hoarded up for yourselves, therefore taste what you hoarded]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Indeed if a believer has any of that (wealth), he may spend on his family from it as much as he wishes. Then whenever the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance) rises, he must place whatever he has at his disposal, and whatever remains of it he uses for his own livelihood. In this case he has discharged what is obligatory upon him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar says: I was with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when someone asked him: "On what amount of wealth is zakat obligatory?" He said: "Which zakat do you mean: the outward (formal) one or the inward (informal) one?" He said: "I mean both." He said: "As for the outward, it is twenty-five dirhams on every thousand dirhams. And as for the inward, it is that you do not withhold from your brother what he needs more than you do." And from him [it is narrated]: "Allah has given you these surpluses of wealth only so that you may direct them where Allah has directed them, and He did not give them to you so that you may hoard them [and not spend them in the way of Allah]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When this verse was revealed — meaning this word of Allah the Exalted: وَ الَّذِینَ یَکْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَ الْفِضَّةَ [and those who hoard up gold and silver] — the people said: "Then which wealth should we choose [and keep for ourselves]?" He said: "[Keep for yourself] a tongue that remembers Allah, a heart that is grateful, and a spouse who helps you in the path of your faith."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The dirham and the dinar destroyed those who came before you, and those two will destroy you as well.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Our Shia have leeway to spend what is in their hands in a fitting manner. But when our Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief) rises, he will forbid every possessor of a hoard his hoard, until they bring it to him and he uses it to gain help against his enemy. This is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَ الَّذِینَ یَکْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَ الْفِضَّةَ وَ لاَ یُنفِقُونَهَا فِی سَبِیلِ اللهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِیمٍ [and those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, announce to them a painful chastisement].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sulayman al-Nawfali said: I was in the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). ... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "... O Abdullah! Strive not to hoard gold and silver, for then this verse will encompass you, in which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: الَّذِینَ یَکْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَ الْفِضَّةَ وَ لا یُنْفِقُونَها فِی سَبِیلِ اللهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذابٍ أَلِیمٍ [those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, announce to them a painful chastisement]; and do not consider small any sweet or leftover food that you put into empty bellies, for by it you calm the anger of the Lord, Blessed and Exalted!"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Indeed, Allah has forbidden the hoarding of gold and silver and has commanded that it be spent in the way of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Indeed, whoever does not pay zakat, he drags his qusb into the Fire — that is, He places the fire in his intestines.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever leaves behind a hoard, on the Day of Resurrection it will appear to him as a dangerous serpent with two black spots above its eyes, and it will pursue him. That person will say, "Woe to you, who are you?" The serpent will say, "I am that hoard which you left behind after yourself." And it will keep following him until it takes his hand into its mouth and crushes it and swallows it, and after that it swallows the rest of the parts of his body.