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Ustadh Abdullah responds to question about Zakaat - Tariqulislam1 - 02-25-2005
As-Salaamu-Alaikum
When is zakat to be paid? Can it be paid before a specified time?
What is the Maliki position on this issue? For more detailed articles
on Islam please visit us at:
http://lamppostproductions.org
Look in our "Article" section to see Ustadh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali's
translation of a section of Ibn Qayyim Jauziyah's "Zaad al-Ma'aad"
(Provisions for the Hereafter), to address the a growing social
problem....children born out of wedlock!
Was-Salaam
Question:
My understanding is that Zakat is due on specified wealth that one
has for at least one year. That means Zakat becomes due after a year.
I used to calculate my wealth at the begining of each Ramdan and
would make an assumption that I will have that amount till the
begining of the next Ramdan, that is, for a year. I distributed the
Zakat evenly on as needed basis through out the year and what ever
balance was less, I would distribute during the Ramdan.
My reasoning being that the need does not occur just during the
month of Ramdan but is there through out the year. And If my wealth
decreases during the year, it is ok, as I would have distributed
more than that was due.
Somebody told me that i cannot do it this way. I have to wait a year
and distribute the Zakat with in 2 months of it. i am quite confused
as to why is it so, if it is so.
Ustadh Abdullah's response:
The payment of Zakah has specific conditions for its validity. Of
those conditions is for one lunar year to pass over surplus cash
before it is considered compulsory to pay due to the hadith of the
Prophet (pbuh):
"There is no Zakah in wealth until the lunar year has passed over it."
[Daraqutni]
But, both Imams Abu Hanifa and Shafi'i consider it permissible for one
to pay Zakah before it is due (Bidayat al-Mujtahid; Mukhtasar
al-Muzani) while there are 4 different narrations about Malik.
One view is that Malik considered it invalid for one to pay before it
was due (Ibn Rushd).
The other three narrations are as follows:
- It can be paid one or two days prior to due date
- It can be paid one month prior
- It can be paid two months prior
[Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra]
The standard view among Malikis is that it can be paid prior to due
date, and that it is merely makruh (disliked) for one to pay it one
month in advance.
The stipulation that a complete lunar year pass over one's wealth
before Zakah is due is one of the signs of Allah's kindness and mercy
to us in that were we obliged to calculate and distribute the Zakah at
the very beginning of the year what we possibly or likely might have
of surplus at the end, it might happen that we'll suffer enormous
hardship later in the year if some unforseen misfortune occurs that
requires that additional cash.
Yes! It is true that the need to give to the poor exists during the
entire year. And one is free to give from one's wealth at anytime
during the year to help them with their needs. However, Zakah is an
obligatory tax demanded from us only when we have the means to do so.
And it is a pillar of our faith. And the reward of it can only be
achieved when it is executed according to all of its appropriate
conditions.
As for charity, one is also rewarded immensely for that - maybe even
more, since it is done of one's free will while Zakah is a duty that
one is subject to punishment for not executing.
And I do know that Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi alludes to the possbility
of calculating and distributing his Zakah at the beginning of the year
in his book, Fiqh al-Zakah. But this view is untraditional and is
counted by scholars today as one of his errors.
And Allah knows best.
Was Salaam
Abdullah
Ustadh Abdullah bin Hamid Ali is the first American to attend and
graduate from the University of Al- Qarawiyeen's Faculty of Shariah
The focus of his study was the understanding of the science of fiqh,
Usool al-Fiqh and`Aqeedah.
He has studied under some of the top scholars of Islam including Dr
Abdullah Ghaazeewee, Professor of Usool Al-Fiqh, Sheikh Muhammad At-
Ta'weel, Muftee, Scholar, and Professor of Usool Al-Fiqh, Sheikh
Muhammad Al-Ghaazee Husainee, Grand Muftee of Morocco and Professor
of Al-Fiqh Al-Muqaaran, Sheikh Ahmad Zweetin, Professor of Fiqhul-
Hadeeth and many others!
Please visit us at: http://lamppostproductions.org for more
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