Delaying Zakah after its deadline


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Q: I would like to ask about the following: The time when Zakah (obligatory charity) is due on the money I have comes while I am here (in Saudi Arabia), which is four months before the time I go back to my homeland (Egypt), and no one there in Egypt can carry out this mission on my behalf. It is worth to mention that the money on which Zakah is due is there in Egypt. There is a (Part No. 8; Page No. 336) benefit in paying the Zakah myself, as I give it out to some of my relatives as a means of maintaining ties of kinship with my late father's (may Allah be merciful to him) relatives. My question is: Can I delay giving out the due Zakah for four months until I am back home to do so myself?


A: It is not permissible to delay giving out Zakah once a Hawl (one lunar year calculated from the time a property reaches the minimum amount upon which Zakah is due) has passed on your money which amounts to Nisab (the minimum amount on which Zakah is due) except for a legal excuse, such as difficulty to find the poor at the time when Zakah is due, or the inability to give it out to them, or unavailability of the money and the like. So you can deputize a trustworthy person to give it out - to its legal recipients whom you name when it is due. You still can give Zakah due on you before a Hawl is passed on the money you have if there is an interest in doing so.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.




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