Fast 31 days.
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 have
two questions:
1. i
started my fasting back home in nigeria and have now returned to the uk.this
means that if i fast until friday,it will have been 31 days of ramadhan for
me.what should i do please?or doesnt it matter since i missed some during my
period?
2.i am unmarried and have never had to pay zakat for myself.i need to know the
terms of zakat since i dont earn anything and how ican go about it here in the
uk
thank you
(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:
Fast 31 days
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.
Q-1: i
started my fasting back home in nigeria and have now returned to the uk.this
means that if i fast until friday,it will have been 31 days of ramadhan for
me.what should i do please?or doesnt it matter since i missed some during my
period?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 185:
185 Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an as a guide
to mankind also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and
wrong). So everyone of you who is
present (or witnesses) the month should spend it in fasting but if
anyone is ill or on a journey the prescribed period (should be made up) by days
later. Allah intends every facility for
you He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed
period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be
grateful.
If you started your fasts in a place where Ramadan started
a day or two earlier than the place you subsequently traveled to, you would
have deemed to have witnessed the day of the blessed month of Ramadan and thus
you should observe the fast, even if it happens to be your 31st
fast….you will earn the reward of voluntary fasts for your extra day/s of
fasting.
Your
Question: ….or doesnt it matter since i missed some during my period?
If one has perchance missed some of their obligatory fasts
of Ramadan due to travel, sickness, or through menstruation…..indeed it would
be lawful to count these extra fasts as atonement for the respective missed
number of day/days of fasting.
Thus for example say a believer missed five days of the
obligatory fasts of Ramadan, and then subsequently traveled to a place in
Ramadan and had to fast one extra day….then one would have to make up only four
fasts at the other times of the year.
Q-2: i
am unmarried and have never had to pay zakat for myself.i need to know the
terms of zakat since i dont earn anything and how ican go about it here in the
In principle, ‘zakah’ is to be paid every year on the
excess wealth of every believer (man, woman, or child) after it has been in
their possession for a period of one calendar year.
If the total nett worth of any believer 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.
Thus sister, except for the value of the house you (might)
own and actually live in, the car you (might) own and use, and the furniture
and fixture you use on a daily basis….if you have any other assets which belong
to you like jewelry, cash, investments, properties, etc. and have been in your
possession for a period of one full calendar year….you would be liable to pay
‘zakah’ annually on the market value of those excess assets 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