Will my zakat be accepted given that I am not performing prayer?

Question

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. I am giving Zakat to the poor and needy during Ramadan. As Prayer (Salat) is the second pillar of Islam, but I am not performing any prayers. Will Allah accept my Zakat payments?

Answer 1

Will Allah accept my Zakat payments?

As said in my answer here "Any good deed a Muslim is doing he should be doing it hoping Allah may accept it, and if Allah accepted it then this deed would have been done in a correct or perfect manner."
We don't know what Allah accepts or what he rejects we don't know whether Allah will accept your zakat if you are not performing prayers, but if you started praying the possibility that he may accept them will get higher.

So you should repent and turn to Allah and (re-) start praying to increase your chances of acceptance for your zakat and remember the words of our Messenger:

... but my comfort has been provided in prayer. (Form sunan ibn Majah)

And not that Allah made it condition to be a brother of Muslims to pay zakat and perform the prayer in 9:11:

But if they repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, then they are your brothers in religion

And abu Bakr's position about those who differentiate between prayer and zakat is quoted in his commentary of a hadith in sahih al-Bukhari.

But note there's a slight difference between sadaqa (is a -free- gift that you may give poor people) and zakat (is a fixed amount of money you are asked to give poor people according known conditions, which are described in the link).

Answer 2

The most important thing that I need to know before I can answer is the reason why you are not performing salat.

Intentionally leaving fard salat is a major sin. A single intentional major sin is enough for entering hell. Quran 4:137, 4:138, 4:145, 2:81, 2:85

[2:85]...Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.

If you intentionally don't perform salat but give zakat to please Allah, then even you will go to hell but Allah may reduce your punishment. Quran 99:7, 99:8

If you are in office in the time of salat and there is no mosque nearby then you should perform salat in office. If your are a employee and your boss don't permits you to perform salat then you may say to him that you will work extra after working hours. Even after that your boss don't allow you to perform salat then you should search for another boss who will allow you.

[4:103]...Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.

If every attempt to perform salat fails but you are able to go to another country where you can perform salat, it is compulsory for you to go to that country.

[4:97] Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves - [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." The angels will say, "Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell - and evil it is as a destination.

But if you are not able to migrate and you are fully dependent on your job so can't leave the job or if you forget or can't wake up from sleep then you should perform missed salats as soon as possible.

If every attempt fails then don't worry Allah will forgive you.

[4:98] Except for the oppressed among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan nor are they directed to a way -

If you leave some salat because of you can perform but it is hard for you and you normally don't do any major sin then Allah may forgive you or punish you.

[4:117] Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.

If you do any good deed to please Allah like giving zakat you will see that on the day of Judgment and if you do any bad deed like not performing salat, you will also see that.

[99:7] So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, [99:8] And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.

Allah knows the best. May Allah forgive us. Ameen.