1. I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT POSSESSION OF GOLD MAKES MY MOM AND MYSELF "MAALIK-E-NISAAB", THAT IS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYING ZAKAAT AND QURBANI.
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:
BURHAN BHAI,
ASSALAAM-U-ALAIKUM,
I AM WRITING THIS LETTER IN SHEER DESPERATION. THIS ISSUE IS OF EXTREME
IMPORTANCE TO US. KINDLY READ THIS LETTER WITH UTMOST ATTENTION SO THAT YOU CAN
GIVE ME THE BEST ADVICE POSSIBLE.
MY ISSUE IS RELATED TO ZAKAAT AND QURBANI. SO LONG WE HAVE BEEN GIVING OUR
ZAKAAT ASSUMING THAT OUR CALCULATION OF THE SAME IS CORRECT BUT I THINK THERE
IS SOME MISTAKE IN THE TITLES PAYING IT. I AM GIVING YOU THE ENTIRE PICTURE OF
OUR FINANCIAL STRUCTURE TO HELP YOU DETERMINE THE SOLUTION FOR OUR PROBLEM. WE
ARE A FAMILY OF FOUR. MY DAD STAYS IN
NOW EACH YEAR WHILE CALCULATING ZAKAAT MY DAD, ON HIS OWN, TAKES THE ESTIMATE
OF OUR ENTIRE PROPERTY OR WEALTH AND THEN PAYS THE ZAKAAT. THIS INCLUDES THE
ZAKAAT ON OUR GOLD AS WELL. RECENTLY I CAME TO KNOW FROM ONE OF THE MUFTI`S IN
OUR LOCALITY THAT THE ZAKAAT ON THE GOLD IN OUR POSSESSION HAS TO BE PAID BY
BOTH OF US I.E. MY MOTHER AND MYSELF. SIMILARLY WHILE GIVING THE MONEY FOR OUR
PARTICIPATION IN QURBANI, SINCE WE SACRIFICE A COW, HAS TO BE GIVEN BY BOTH OF
US AND NOT NY DAD. PLEASE CLARIFY THE CONFUSION WE ARE FACING HERE. MY MOTHER
IS A HOUSE WIFE AND BOTH OF US, MY BROTHER AND MYSELF, ARE NOT WORKING AT THE
MOMENT. HENCE WHERE DO WE PAY FROM? OUR DAD GIVES THREE OF US A POCKET MONEY OF
Rs. 1000/- EACH, APART FROM SENDING THE USUAL MONEY FOR HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES
EVERY MONTH. BOTH MY MOTHER AND MYSELF HAVE A FAIR SHARE OF GOLD PROPERTY GIVEN
TO US BY DADDY. MY BROTHER ALSO HAS SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY IN HIS NAME IN THE
BANK WHICH HE HAD SAVED OVER THE YEARS OUT OF HIS POCKET MONEY.
MY QUESTION IS:-
1. I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT POSSESSION OF GOLD MAKES MY MOM AND MYSELF
"MAALIK-E-NISAAB", THAT IS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYING ZAKAAT AND QURBANI.
SINCE WE BOTH ARE NOT WORKING , ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR ZAKAAT AND QURBANI
OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET? WHEN I ASKED OUR LOCAL MUFTI HOW DO WE DO THAT, HE SAID
THAT AFTER WEIGHING THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF GOLD, WE SHOULD REMOVE IT`S FINANCIAL
WORTH AND OUT OF THAT GOLD WORTH Rs. 2.5% OF THE TOTAL VALUE SHOULD BE SOLD AND
THEN THAT MONEY SHOULD BE GIVEN OUT AS ZAKAAT. FROM AMONG MY RELATIVES AND ALL
THE OTHER PEOPLE I KNOW, ALL THE WOMEN ASK THEIR HUSBANDS TO PAY ZAKAAT ON
THEIR BEHALF. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN DOING THIS SO LONG. IS THAT WRONG?
2. AS I MENTIONED, MY FATHER GIVES THREE OF
I KNOW THE PROBLEM IS A BIT CONFUSING, BUT I COULD NOT THINK OF ANYONE ELSE
WHEN IT CAME TO TAKING A SECOND OPINION ON SUCH A VITAL ISSUE. HOPE TO RECEIVE
THE REPLY SOON .
ALLAH HAFIZ.
(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 calculations
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.
Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, before we address your
specific questions, we wish to clarify that ‘zakah’ and ‘qurbani’ are two
separate and distinct rites of worship; the ‘zakah’ being ‘fard’ or obligatory
and the ‘qurbani’ being ‘Sunnah’ and thus voluntary.
Ref: The obligatory ‘zakah’
If the total nett worth of any believer, regardless of whether that wealth belongs to a 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 her possession for a full calendar year.
If one’s total nett worth is less than the prescribed
‘nisaab’, then one does not have to pay any ‘zakaah’ on their wealth. Thus in
principle, if the value of one’s excess wealth (regardless of whether the
wealth belongs to a man, woman or child) is above the prescribed ‘nisaab’, then
it is absolutely obligatory that one purify their wealth by paying the annul
‘zakah’ on their excess wealth after it has been in their possession for a
period of one full calendar year.
If one fulfills one’s obligatory duty of ‘zakah’, one will
earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one for any reason is negligent
in fulfilling their annual ‘zakah’ dues properly, they will have a severe
accounting in the presence of their Lord in the Hereafter.
Ref: Qurbani
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 absolutely 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.
Your
Question: …..NOW EACH YEAR WHILE CALCULATING ZAKAAT MY DAD, ON HIS OWN, TAKES
THE ESTIMATE OF OUR ENTIRE PROPERTY OR WEALTH AND THEN PAYS THE ZAKAAT. THIS
INCLUDES THE ZAKAAT ON OUR GOLD AS WELL. RECENTLY I CAME TO KNOW FROM ONE OF
THE MUFTI`S IN OUR LOCALITY THAT THE ZAKAAT ON THE GOLD IN OUR POSSESSION HAS
TO BE PAID BY BOTH OF US I.E. MY MOTHER AND MYSELF.
It is the responsibility and the duty of the owner of the
wealth to make sure that its proper annual ‘zakah’ dues are paid; thus in the
Sight of Allah Subhanah, indeed you are liable for the ‘zakah’ of the jewelry
that belongs to you, and your mother is liable for the ‘zakah’ of the jewelry
that belongs to her.
But if your father, while paying the ‘zakah’ due from him,
in addition also fulfills the ‘zakah’ due on the jewelry that belongs to his
wife and his daughter, that is absolutely lawful and acceptable to Allah
Subhanah….and in such a situation, the mother and the daughter will not be
liable to pay the ‘zakah’ again on their jewelry.
Your Question:
….SIMILARLY WHILE GIVING THE MONEY FOR OUR PARTICIPATION IN QURBANI, SINCE WE
SACRIFICE A COW, HAS TO BE GIVEN BY BOTH OF US AND
Firstly sister, the ‘qurbani’ or sacrifice is not
obligatory upon those who are not on the Hajj pilgrimage themselves, but is a
preferred Sunnah and thus voluntary.
Secondly, each individual of the family is neither obligated nor
required to perform an individual sacrifice; if the head of the household
performs the voluntary ‘qurbani’ with the intention that the sacrifice is from
the whole household, it would more than suffice for the whole family or
household.
Sahih Muslim Hadith
4845 Narrated by Aisha
Allah's Messenger
(saws) commanded that a ram with black legs, black belly and black (circles)
round the eyes should be brought to him, so that he should sacrifice it. He (saws) said to Aisha: “Give me the large
knife”, and then said: “Sharpen it on a stone.” She did that. He (saws) then
took it (the knife) and then the ram; he placed it on the ground and then
sacrificed it, saying: “In the name of Allah, O Allah, accept (this sacrifice)
on behalf of Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, and the Ummah of
Muhammad".
Your Question-1: I CAN
UNDERSTAND THAT POSSESSION OF GOLD MAKES MY MOM AND MYSELF
"MAALIK-E-NISAAB", THAT IS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYING ZAKAAT AND QURBANI.
SINCE WE BOTH ARE NOT WORKING , ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR ZAKAAT AND QURBANI
OUT OF OUR OWN POCKET? WHEN I ASKED OUR LOCAL MUFTI HOW DO WE DO THAT, HE SAID
THAT AFTER WEIGHING THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF GOLD, WE
SHOULD REMOVE IT`S FINANCIAL WORTH AND OUT OF THAT GOLD WORTH Rs. 2.5% OF THE
TOTAL VALUE SHOULD BE SOLD AND THEN THAT MONEY SHOULD BE GIVEN OUT AS ZAKAAT.
FROM AMONG MY RELATIVES AND ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE I KNOW, ALL THE WOMEN ASK
THEIR HUSBANDS TO PAY ZAKAAT ON THEIR BEHALF. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN DOING
Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, although the
responsibility of paying the annual ‘zakah’ dues lies upon the one who owns the
wealth, if one’s guardian or parent or husband, etc., of their own will,
fulfills the ‘zakah’ dues on the excess wealth or jewelry owned by those in
their wards, that is perfectly acceptable in the Sight of Shariah Law and of
Allah Subhanah.
If your father does not pay the ‘zakah’ on the jewelry
owned by yourself and your mother, then indeed you and your mother would be
liable to pay the annual ‘zakah’ dues on your jewelry. But if your father says that he has included
your excess wealth when determining his annual ‘zakah’, then the annual ‘zakah’
on the jewelry owned by your mother and yourself will be considered fulfilled
in the Sight of Allah Subhanah and you and your mother do not have to pay the
‘zakah’ on it for that particular year again.
In the case of your father not paying the ‘zakah’ dues on
the jewelry owned by yourself and your mother, then indeed you and your mother
would have to pay the annual ‘zakah’ on your jewelry; and if you and your
mother do not have the necessary cash to pay the ‘zakah’, then indeed you would
have to sell a part of your jewelry and fulfill its ‘zakah’ annually.
If the wife requests her husband to pay the annual ‘zakah’
on the jewelry owned by her, and the husband fulfills her request by paying the
‘zakah’ on her jewelry, that is perfectly acceptable in Shariah and the wife is
not required to pay the ‘zakah’ again on her jewelry for that calendar year.
Your Question: AS I
MENTIONED, MY FATHER GIVES THREE OF
Lets say one (you)
has jewelry worth IRS 100,000.00; and from the IRS 12,000.00 pocket money you
receive each year you have spent IRS10,000.00 on expenses and saved IRS
2,000.00.
Thus your nett excess wealth will be calculated at IRS
102,000.00, and provided this wealth has been in your possession for a period
of one full calendar year, you will be liable to pay 2.5% of IRS 102,000.00 as
the ‘zakah’ for that particular calendar year.
Because the wealth belongs to you individually, it is you
who is ultimately liable and responsible to fulfill this obligatory
‘zakah’. If you father chooses to pay
the ‘zakah’ dues liable from you, there is absolutely no harm; but if your
father, for any reason, does not fulfill the ‘zakah’ that is due from you, you
will be liable to pay it yourself.
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
