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 am a 31year old single woman living with my immediate family, my mother and my younger ones to be precise. my mum and dad divorced last year so I carry the burden of feeding for all ,school fees for all .in short the running of the house is on me.  since my mum is doing nothing for now and my dad completely removed his hands from our welfare.. We are ten in number, two of my brothers are undergraduates in the university, another two are about to go to the university next fall.although my immediate younger sister about 29 is virtually taking care of herself, the rest are in secondary schools with the exception of the last who has autism disease and cant be in school due to the illness .he is about 6years.

  However I have about 800,000 naira as asset in my savings account .so my question is,: is zakat mandatory for me on my savings deposits? And is it necessary for me to pay zakat after Ramadan for everyone in the house provided my dad is still alive and married to another woman with 3 children? Pls reply because am so confused and carrying the load am not suppose to carry but if it is mandatory then I know Allah knows best.salamu aleikum.

 

(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:

 

Zakaah calculation

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.

 

Except for the house one actually lives in, the vehicle one drives or uses, the furniture and fixtures one uses in their daily lives, the value of everything else one owns will be considered excess assets upon which the annual zakah of 2.5% would be due. 

 

Firstly sister, ‘zakah’ is not paid by an individual for everyone in the family, but rather ‘zakah’ is to be paid by each believer (man, woman, or child) whose personal net worth is more than the prescribed ‘nisaab’.

 

Thus if after paying all the expenses, you have a savings of NGN 800,000.00 (appx US$6,600.00) at the end of a calendar year, indeed you will be liable to pay your annual ‘zakah’ on your savings at the rate of 2.50%.

 

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