Zakat: Clarifications & Answers

September 4, 2010

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Question

a) If someone is talib al ilm in the shari’ah sciences are they liable to pay zakat if they have savings over the nisaab aount if they intened to use that money on their studying?

b) If money has been loaned to people does this become included in the zakatable amount or is it outside of it?

c) According to the fuqahaa amongst the categories of zakat-eligible is there any order of merit as to prioritizing whom to give to?

d) How does shari’ah define al yatiim (the orphan) – is it one whose parents have died or can it be just one?

Answered by: Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

Assalamu alaykum

In the name of Allah, the inspirer of truth.

1. If the student’s saving is over a nisab and no part of it is immediately payable for fees, debts or other expenses, then zakat is necessary on such an amount.

2. Zakat is also necessary on the amount loaned to another person if it reaches a nisab along with any other savings a person may have. However, he has the option of paying year by year when his zakat for everything else is due or to pay when he is repaid for all the previous years. However, if the loan is denied and he has no way of having it repaid to him, then zakat will not be necessary every year. If it is ever received then zakat will be necessary on it for the following year along with any other saving.

3. The most virtuous category are the poor from among one’s family and relatives followed by whoever is most in need locally from among the poor students of Din, people in the path of Allah (who benefit the din), and then generally those of the poor who are more in need than the others. It is also mentioned that giving it to a poor knowledgeable person is better than giving it to an ignorant poor person. (Radd al-Muhtar 2:68-69)

4. Allama Haskafi states in the al-Durr al-Mukhtar, “A yatim is the one whose father has passed away before puberty.” (whether his mother is alive or not). [5:440]

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

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Dr. Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf

Dr. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorised the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialised licence to issue fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from the University of Johannesburg and completed his MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He holds an honorary fellowship at The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has the unique experience of serving as an imam in Muslim communities on both sides of the Atlantic, eight years in Southern California and over five in the great city of London—and his continued work as an international speaker and lecturer enables him to address and offer pertinent advice on current challenges that face Muslims in the West. He is the founder of Whitethread Institute, a post-graduate insititute for Islamic scholars. He is an avid traveller and continues to teach hadith and work on scholarly publications through White Thread Press (www.whitethreadpress.com). Many of his lectures are available on www.zamzamacademy.com and his courses through Rayyan Institute (www.rayyaninstitute.com).