of knowledge, he is an apostate (murtadd). The rulings of apostates are applied to him; he is asked to repent for three days, and if he repents, it is well; otherwise, he is killed. This is because the evidence for the obligation of Zakat is manifest in the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus (ijma') of the Ummah, such that it is rarely hidden from one in his circumstances. Thus, if he denies it, it can only be due to his rejection of the Book and the Sunnah and his disbelief in them.

Section: If he withholds it while believing in its obligation, and the Imam is able to take it from him, he shall take it and punish him (ta'zir), but he shall not take anything in addition to it, according to the opinion of most scholars, including Abu Hanifa, Malik, Al-Shafi'i, and their companions. The same applies if he hides his wealth so that the Imam cannot collect its Zakat, and then it is discovered. Ishaq ibn Rahuyah and Abu Bakr 'Abd al-'Aziz said: He shall take it and half of his wealth, based on what Bahz ibn Hakim narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say: 'In every grazing herd of camels, for every forty, there is a bint labun (two-year-old she-camel). They shall not be separated from their calculation (14). Whoever gives it seeking reward, then for him is its reward; and whoever withholds it, then we shall take it and half of his wealth, as a firm command from the commands of our Lord; it is not lawful for the family of Muhammad to have any part of it.' This hadith was mentioned to Ahmad, who said: 'I do not know what its orientation (wajh) is.' He was asked about its chain of narration, and he replied: 'In my view, its chain is sound.' It was narrated by Abu Dawud, Al-Athram (16), and Al-Nasa'i in their 'Sunan' (17). The argument for the first position is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): 'There is no due right in wealth other than Zakat' (18). Furthermore, the withholding of Zakat occurred in