ZAKAT PAYMENT
*What Does the Timing of* Zakât Payment Involve?
The two main concerns about when Zakât payments are to be made involve calculating due dates and whether payment can be made in advance or delayed.
*How is the Zakât Due Date* Calculated?
Many Muslims calculate Zakât during Ramadan because Allah multiplies many times over the reward of our wellintended good deeds in this month of fasting, in which the Quran was first revealed. Moreover, Ramadan’s last 10 days are most blessed, since The Night of Empowering Decree (Laylat al-Qadr) occurs in them. So a typical Zakat-year (^awl) may run from 28 Ramadan one year to 27 Ramadan the following year. Once you have established a Zakat-year, use the same date range for all future Zakat-years. Thus you would calculate and pay your Zakât on 27 Ramadan every year for as long as Allah gives you life, including in the year of your death (in which Zakât must be paid as a debt, or an heir may pay any due Zakât from his or her own wealth, or through your own prepayment prior to death).
*Is Prepayment of Zakât* Permissible?
Yes. One may pay Zakât in advance on assets whose nisâb� requires passage of a year, such as livestock and money—especially if the payer has the necessary ni|âb and the Zakat recipient(s) has suffered (or will otherwise endure) a calamity.
One may also pay his or her Zakât weekly or monthly, if
that is easier, or more conducive. For salaried employees, this helps spread the Zakât payment over an entire year, which greatly reduces any financial burden, while fulfilling Zakât’s purposes and one’s divine obligation to the poor. But one who prepays Zakât must still make a final calculation at the end of the Zakât-year to ensure compliance in full with the �obligation (Fiqh az-Zakât, 518-521).
*When Is Zakât Actually* Due?
Zakât is payable immediately whenever its established due (or
“harvest,” or equivalent) date falls. Therefore, Zakât payment should not be delayed unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Is A Delay of Zakât Payment* Permissible?
No. It is sinful, unless there is a truly extenuating circumstance or valid reason or injunction from a legitimate authority. When Zakât on any of one’s property or holdings falls due, one must pay it in full immediately (without waiting to aggregate it with other Zakât expected to fall due) because it is not one’s money, but a right owed to the poor (Fiqh az-Zakât, 522).
*What If One Has Unpaid* Zakât for Past Years?
Whoever has not paid due Zakât for past years, must pay it retroactively at the soonest possible moment. Estimate past payments for all unpaid years. Then pay it for the entire period.
This does not relinquish one from the obligation of payment for the current Zakât-year. Converts to Islam owe no Zakât for years prior to their acceptance of faith (Fiqh az-Zakat, 522).
*Does Death Relieve One of* Zakât Obligations Due?
No. Since Zakât is the right of the poor on the wealth of the rich, death of a wealthy person does not absolve him of the obligation of unpaid Zakât. If one dies before paying Zakât, then the unpaid Zakât must be taken out from his estate and paid to the poor before the estate is distributed among heirs (Fiqh us-Sunnah, 10). Or an heir can pay it on the deceased’s behalf, which is a great mercy.
A man came to the Prophet œ and said:
‘My mother died while owing a month of fasting. Shall I
make it up for her?’ The Prophet asked: ‘If there were debt for your mother, would you pay it for her?’ He said: ‘Yes.’
The Prophet said: ‘A debt to Allah is more deserving of �payment.’ (Bukhârî and Muslim)�
Unpaid Zakât has priority of payment over all other debts from a deceased Muslim’s estate. Other debts are paid only after one’s outstanding Zakât has been satisfied. If the deceased’s established Zakât date for the year has not yet come, the amount due is estimated out of one’s final estate and distributed among its rightful owners; namely, the poor, the needy, or the eligible. The deceased’s property is then distributed in accordance with divine inheritance injunctions.
*What if One Sets One’s Zakât* *Aside Then Loses It? *
In almost all cases, this does NOT absolve one of paying the poor their God-given due in one’s wealth. Some scholars hold that a Zakât payment remains due regardless of the reason for loss. But if one’s Zakât is lost or taken—in circumstances legitimately beyond one’s control, not because of neglect—the payer is, according to the opinion of broadest support, excused for that payment. But, again, this is rare; and if one is able, one should pay it to ensure compliance with God’s commandment
(Fiqh az-Zakat, 523).
*Must Zakât Be Paid in* Money?
No. Zakât can be paid in any verifiable measure of value that adds up to what one owes—in money or by an in-kind payment. Moreover, Zakât need not be paid in the same denomination, with the same kind of wealth, one is paying Zakât on.
If one is paying Zakât on crops, for instance, the sum may be converted into money and paid (Fiqh az-Zakat, 509).
*What Essentials Make a* *Zakât Payment Valid?*
Three conditions make a Zakât-payers payment valid:
1. PROPER INTENTION: The Prophet - pbuh- said: “[The value of] all deeds are [determined] only by intention” (Bukhari, 1:1). Hence, one’s intention constitutes the foremost validating factor for all one’s works.
For obligatory acts of worship like Zakât, there is no exception to this rule. Moreover, it is the intention �that distinguishes one’s Zakât payment from one’s voluntary charitable giving (Sadaqah).
2. PROPER ASSESSMENT: All one’s zakatable wealth without exclusion—both money and possession—must be precisely measured and correctly valued.
3. PROPER RECEIPT: One must cause one’s Zakât to be transferred to a duly eligible recipient (or recipi–ents) as specified in the Quran and particularized by the Prophet œ. This may be done directly, if there
is no legitimately designated agency, or through a reputable nonprofit deserving of competence in this area. For the purposes of Muslims in America, this is often the surest way to guarantee one’s compliance. Once one transfers Zakât to a designated party duly deemed eligible by an individual or organization qualified to make such a determination, then one is not obliged to repay that Zakât if it is later determined that the party who received one’s Zakât �was ineligible.�
May Allah Make it Easy For us.