What Happens If You Forget to Pay Zakat?

For many of us, this moment of dread feels all too real. Life moves fast. We are human. We forget. But when the obligation is Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam, forgetting carries weight. It carries questions we need to answer. What actually happens when we miss the deadline for Zakat al-Mal? What if Zakat al-Fitr passes us by before we could give it? Is there a way back?