Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I want to ask u that Is ZAKAT and QURBANI farz on me ??? (i`m 21 year old girl and i am still studing, depending on my brothers cause my parents died when i was 2 year old but i have money that i invested in a business year ago and i am earning 1500 to 2000 from it (not fixed) per month).

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Zakah and sacrifice obligatory

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

If the total nett worth of any believer (man, woman, or child) is more than the prescribed ‘nisaab’ of 7.5 ‘tolas’ of gold (app. 85 grams or app. Value US$1,000.00), then the person is liable to pay the obligatory zakat of 2.5% on their excess wealth which has been in their possession for a full calendar year. 

 

Ref: Zakat

Beloved Sister, your monthly or yearly earnings by themselves have absolutely no effect on the determination or calculations of your ‘zakah’ dues, for ‘zakah’ in Shariah is not determined from one’s monthly or yearly earnings….but rather it is determined on the excess nett worth or excess assets of an individual which has been in their possession for a period of one calendar year.

 

Thus if your nett excess wealth (the market value of your investments, cash in the bank, gold and jewelry, properties other than the house you live in, etc.) is worth more than US$1,000.00, and the assets have been in your possession for a period of one calendar year, indeed ‘zakah’ would be absolutely obligatory upon you to be paid at the rate of 2.5% per year.

 

Ref: Qurbani or Sacrifice

For the believers who are performing the Hajj pilgrimage, it is absolutely obligatory that the obligatory rite of sacrifice should be offered for each individual performing the pilgrimage.  The absolute minimum sacrifice one performing the Hajj should offer is a sheep, or one-seventh of a cow or camel.  If one wishes to offer more sacrifice than the stipulated minimum, there is absolutely no harm.

 

For the believers who are not performing the Hajj, offering a sacrifice on the Day of Adha is not obligatory, but rather a preferred Sunnah and thus voluntary.  If for any reason one who is not on the Hajj pilgrimage wishes not to offer the sacrifice on the Day of Adha, there is no sin upon them; the absolute maximum one may say is that the person who chose not to offer a sacrifice missed a great opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan