Wealth is the adornment of this worldly life, and the Prophet ﷺ clarified the due rights that whoever has abundant wealth should fulfill, such as zakat and charity. He ﷺ explained the great reward that will be earned from fulfilling these rights, and the punishment that will be received if these rights are not fulfilled. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ explains that if one’s wealth, which Allah has given to him, reaches the threshold or the minimum value of zakat, and he does not take out its zakat, his wealth will come on the Day of Judgment in the form of a bald-headed snake, called al-Shujaa’, which is a venomous snake that has a white head, and it has two black marks above its eyes. This kind of snake is extremely poisonous, because the whiteness of its head reflects the large amount of poison it has within. The snake will encircle the neck of those who did not pay zakat on his wealth like a collar, and then take hold of the corners of his mouth, bite them and secrete its venom into his mouth. Then, it will say to him, “I am your wealth, I am your treasure that you hoarded!” By this, the person will experience both physical punishment and psychological punishment. Thereafter, the Prophet ﷺ supported this by the Statement of Allah: {And let not those who withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty ever think that it is better for them. Rather, it is worse for them.} i.e., let those who greedily withhold what Allah has given them of His bounty,out of His favour upon them, ever think that it is good for them – in fact, it is bad for them! Because the wealth they hoarded will encircle their neck like a collar, and they will be punished with it on the Day of Judgment. A benefit derived from this hadeeth is learning the punishment of withholding the zakat and the severe punishment of this sin. The hadeeth shows that Allah will transform objects into living beings, which is nothing compared to what Allah can do with His Power. It also shows that if a person does not thank Allah for His blessings and fulfill His right in them, they will inflict pain and punishment upon him on the Day of Judgment and take the worst form. It indicates that the word ‘maal’ (wealth), in its general sense, includes gold and silver, and all other kinds of wealth that are eligible for zakat. .