Surat At-Tawbah (34-35)

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنَ الأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ} [التوبة : 34]

34- O believers, many Jewish and Christian scholars give up the rulings of their religion by accepting ill-gotten money from people such as bribes and gifts to change the rulings of Allah, conceal His Rulings, or forgive them in sins they commit. In the meanwhile, they prevent people from following the religion of Allah by raising false doubts about it, concealing the matter of the Prophet in their books, and distorting news about him. They say: He is not the foretold Prophet while they know that his descriptions are full harmonized with the descriptions written in their books, and know that as they know their children.

So, the Ayah warns the people against bad scholars who know the truth but conceal or distort it, and thereby they betray Allah.

Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: Whoever becomes corrupt of our scholars, he resembles the Jews and whoever becomes deviant of our worshippers, he resembles the Christians.

As for those who accumulate money, gold, and silver and be keen to keep them without paying the due rights of the poor, orphans, and the needy as fixed by the Shari`ah, so Allah promised them with a painful and severe punishment.

{يَوْمَ يُحْمَى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكْوَى بِهَا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُهُمْ هَـذَا مَا كَنَزْتُمْ لأَنفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُواْ مَا كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ} [التوبة : 35]

35- On that terrible day, very hot fires shall be kindled in Hell under the silver and gold which they accumulated to brand their forehead which they raised for haughtiness. Then their sides which became fat out of fullness shall be burnt then their back which they turned away from the poor. Moreover, it will be said to them as a rebuke: This is the result of the money you accumulated for yourself without paying them for the sake of Allah, so taste the retribution of your accumulation so that the dearest things to you in this world would be the most harmful in the Hereafter.