Surah 41. Fussilat, Ayah 7

Belief in God's oneness and charitableness towards one's fellow-men are two cardinal demands of Islam. Conversely, a deliberate offence against either of these two demands amounts to a denial of man's responsibility before God and hence, by implication, of a continuation of life in the hereafter. (For my rendering of zakah, in this context, as "charity", see surah {2}, note [34]. It is to be borne in mind that the application of this term to the obligatory tax incumbent on Muslims dates from the Medina period, whereas the present surah is a Meccan revelation.)