يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَـذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لأَنفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُواْ مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ

35. On that day, it (that hoarded wealth) will be heated in the fire of Hell and, therewith, their foreheads and their sides and their backs will be branded (and they will hear): "This is the treasure which you hoarded up for yourselves; taste now what you were busy hoarding!"¹⁰

10. The last two verses contain a serious warning. God’s Religion can never be made a means of worldly gain; it cannot be exploited for such things as show, fame, acquiring wealth, status, or political aims. What people are commanded to do is to practice Islam purely to please God; this is the duty of His servants, and this must be done because God has commanded us to do so (98: 5). For this reason, it is severely prohibited to attempt to use Islam for ulterior motives, i.e. to use it for reasons other than why it has been sent; this is especially pertinent to religious scholars and spiritual masters who are expected to represent and convey Islam in its purity, not to exploit it. Such leaders have a place and status in the people’s eyes, and these leaders are more liable than others to exploit this status for worldly aims. ‘Ali, the Fourth Caliph and cousin of the Messenger, may God be pleased with him, says of some types of scholars, whom the Messenger had said would exploit God’s religion for their selfish benefits toward the end of time: “Know, O community of brothers! The worst of people at that time are the scholars who, for the sake of worldly benefits, approve the innovations invented against the religion.” Such scholars are called the “evil scholars” in Islamic literature. God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, talked about 70,000 men who would wear turbans (i.e. religious scholars) who would support the practices of the Dajjāl (the man or a collective personality that is expected to appear toward the end of time and who will try to eradicate Islam from the social life of Muslims) for worldly benefits.

In addition to the ways mentioned above, the scholars and spiritual masters may also exploit religion for selfish motives by distorting some rules of religion or arbitrarily interpreting some of its commandments. In whatever way they exploit religion, such attitudes on the part of religious scholars and spiritual masters cause people to grow antipathetic towards religion and prevent its being taught correctly. A scholar or spiritual master who sells religion for material gain cannot help but distort it. Holding such attitudes is what is meant by barring people from God’s way.

Hoarding up money and goods without spending them in God’s cause to promote God’s cause and to help the poor and needy is one of the major sins. The foremost duty with respect to wealth is paying the Prescribed Alms (the Zakāh). Some scholars are of the opinion that any wealth out of which the Prescribed Alms is given cannot be considered hoarded wealth. However, this opinion has not received welcome from the majority of scholars. The standard by which to judge whether any accumulation of money is regarded as hoarded wealth is the general living standard of all Muslims and the conditions that affect the Islamic world. In another verse (59: 7), the Qur’ān openly declares that wealth should not be a means of prosperity circulated among the rich only. At a time when the majority of Muslims are poor and Islam is left without support, any wealth exceeding the limit of richness according to Islam (which is the amount out of which the Prescribed Alms should be given) and some amount of which is not spent in God’s cause, is regarded as hoarded wealth, and is the object of the threat in the verse. The verse clearly mentions hoarded wealth and the failure to spend it in God’s cause.