Question

Asalamoalaikum . If I have set aside money, to give for Zakat payments of previous years, or money set aside to give for charity (I’ve made intention that this is zakat money, and this is voluntary charity money), on my Zakat calculation date, do I have to consider this amount (add this amount set aside) in cash? Will I pay Zakat on this amount as I’m still owner of it, despite making intention to give it out.

Answer

If you have calculated how much zakat needs to be paid and have set that amount to one side and have not paid the zakat, then zakat will not be necessary on this amount. As for optional charity, if you have not yet given it to anyone then it will still remain in your ownership and therefore you would have to pay zakat on it. The difference between zakat and optional charity in this case is that when you do not pay your zakat that amount becomes a debt and is therefore deductible in the following years.

الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (2/ 260)
(فارغ عن دين له مطالب من جهة العباد)

سواء كان لله كزكاة

(قوله كزكاة)

فلو كان له نصاب حال عليه حولان ولم يزكه فيهما لا زكاة عليه في الحول الثاني، وكذا لو استهلك النصاب بعد الحول ثم استفاد نصابا آخر وحال عليه الحول لا زكاة في المستفاد لاشتغال خمسة منه بدين المستهلك

Answered by:

Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:

Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel