وَهِيَ وَاجِبَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ حُرٍّ، مَلَكَ نِصَابًا، مِلْكًا تَامًّا.
Book of Zakat
كِتَابُ الزَّكَاةِ
The Book of Purification
The Book of Prayer
Importance of Prayer & Ruling of its Abandonment
Facing the Qiblah & Intention in the Prayer
Etiquettes of Walking to Prayer and its Description
Description of Prayer Continued
Description of Prayer Continued
Description of Prayer Continued
Pillars and Mandatory Acts of Prayer
Two Prostrations of Forgetfulness
Supererogatory (Voluntary) Prayers
Supererogatory (Voluntary) Prayers Continued
Times of Prohibition of (Supererogatory) Prayer
Congregational Prayers & Latecomers
Jumu'ah (Congregational Friday) Prayer
The Book of Funerals
The Book of Fasting
The Book of Hajj and 'Umrah
Book of Zakat
The Book of Selling and Commercial Transactions
Introduction & Commercial and Selling
Selling of Primary & Secondary Commodities
Cancellation Options in Transactions
Cancellation Options Continued
Debt Transference & Guarantor-ship
Mortgaging & Security Deposits
Partnership & Companies Continued
Reviving Barren Lands & Per-Job Wage
Lost and Found Property & Foundlings
Prize Money & Deposits for Safekeeping
The Book of Bequests
The Book of Inheritance
The Book of Marriage
The Book of Divorce
The Book of Sadaq
The Book of Dhihar
The Book of Lian
The Book of Foods
Book of Fatal and Non-Fatal Assault
The Book of Indemnities
The Book of Hudood
The Book of Jihad
The Book of the Judiciary
The Book of Testimonies
Appendix
Glossary
The Book of Zakat 461
461. Meaning and Wisdom of Zakat
There is no one word that is an adequate translation of the word zakat. The words ‘alms’, ‘donations’, ‘charity’, and so on do not fully convey the meanings embodied in the word zakat, which include:
- Purification: It purifies one's money from suspicious earnings, and it purifies one's heart from stinginess and miserliness.
- Increase: It increases the wealth of the recipients and also that of the donors, by the blessings that will be bestowed on their money, selves and families, and also through the supplications of the recipients.
- Praise: It will cause the donors to be praised on the Day of Judgment. In addition, the donors will be praised by the recipients, who would otherwise have envied and hated the wealthy people who withhold their money and share no part of it.
The words ‘zakat’ and ‘ṣadaqah’ are used interchangeably in the revelation. Ṣadaqah was called so because it is a proof of the ṣidq (trueness) of one’s faith. Ṣadaqah has been more commonly used by Muslims to refer to the non-obligatory charity.
462. Who Is Required to Pay Zakat?
Notice that he did not mention ‘sane’ or ‘adult’. This is because zakat becomes binding on the zakatable assets themselves, and children and insane individuals who possess those assets will have the zakat paid from them by their custodians. (A) + (+M, +S)
(-H): Zakat (aside from that of crops) is not binding on children and insane individuals. They argued that they are not liable or addressed by the ordainments of Sharia. The exclusion of crops is because zakat is binding on the same crops.
The majority argued that the Prophet (SA) said:
“Trade with the property of orphans and then it will not be eaten away by zakat.” (Ṭab.A – from Anas)
اتَّجِرُوا فِي أَمْوَالِ الْيَتَامَى؛ لاَ تَأْكُلُهَا الزَّكَاةُ
This hadith has several narrations, but they are all weak. Some deemed it acceptable due to corroborations, but the majority considered it weak. The same statement, however, has been traced to ‘Umar (RA). They also argued that the zakat is binding on the zakatable assets themselves that are owned by those individuals. State/Public/Endowment Funds
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) 28 (3/4): Zakat is not obligatory on public money, so states do not need to pay it. Zakat is also not required on endowments for Allah’s cause or for money owned by non-profit charitable organizations.
If the beneficiary of an endowment is a particular person, then he will pay the zakat from that endowment (such as in the case of livestock) or from its proceeds, such as from the crops of an agricultural land. (A)
463. Incomplete Ownership
If you own some assets but do not have full ownership and possession of it, you do not pay zakat on it. The point here is that zakat is binding on assets over which you have control and that you can invest or use. There are certain special cases in the madh-hab, though; for example, they made zakat binding on money you are owed, property that you lost, and money that was wrongfully seized from you ̶ and upon getting the money back, you are required to pay zakat for all the time it was not in your possession. The same applies to a defined dowry that has not been collected. (See the details in the chapter of Zakat of Debts.) You also pay the zakat on money collected in advance for rent, even though you may have to return some of it to the tenant in certain cases, and for money received in exchange for a product that has not been yet delivered in a salam (advance payment) contract. The zakat of the product itself is binding on the buyer only if it is merchandise that they purchased for trade, or gold or silver (which may be deferred in a contract if their price was not currency, gold, or silver). (A) (a) + (-H, -s, t): Lost or wrongfully seized assets are not zakatable. (M): If assets are retrieved after being wrongfully seized for two years or more, zakat is due for the last one year only.
[Passing of a Ḥawl ]
There is no zakat on property until an entire ḥawl (Islamic/lunar year) has passed, except for that which comes from the land. 465
The growth emanating from capital through birth [as with livestock] or profit. The ḥawl of these is that of their origin.
466
وَلاَ زَكَاةَ فِيْ مَالٍ حَتَّى يَحُوْلَ عَلَيْهِ الْحَوْلُ إِلاَّ الْخَارِجَ مِنَ الأَرْضِ. وَنَمَاءَ النِّصَابِ مِنَ النِّتَاجِ وَالرِّبْحِ، فَإِنَّ حَوْلَهُمَا حَوْلُ أَصْلِهِمَا.
(-M, -S): You do not pay zakat on money collected in advance for rent or wages until the service or usufruct has been delivered.
Retirement Plans
Based on the principle of requiring full possession for the assets to be zakatable, for money in retirement plans, you only need to pay zakat on the portion that can be collected on the day you give the zakat, after subtracting the deferred taxes and penalties, if it reaches or exceeds the niṣâb. Then you pay the zakat on the stocks, not the total balance. (See ‘The Zakat on Stocks and Shares’ in the Chapter on the Zakat of Merchandise.)
Locked-in Investment Funds
If someone willingly puts his money in a locked-in investment account for several years, it will still be zakatable every year. IIFA 143 (1/16).
464. For each type of wealth, there is a minimum level below which one does not need to pay zakat (see below). This ‘niṣâb’ may be translated as the zakatable minimum or the zakat threshold.
465. This includes crops, mined metals, and treasure troves.
466. How to Calculate Zakat on Earnings during the Year
If someone has 30 cows at the beginning of the year, and those cows give birth to 10 more during the year, zakat is due on all 40. Thus, zakat is paid for those 10 before having them for a full year because they emanated from the 30, so their ḥawl began with that of the 30. The same applies to profit on money invested.
If the money was earned during the year (such as payment for a job) but not as a profit from the original capital, then one may start a ḥawl for this increment of money. (A) + (+S)
Book of Zakat
( Page : no 58)