Praise be to
Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and ask Him for His forgiveness. We seek
refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from our sinful deeds. He whom
Allah guides, no one can mislead and He whom He leaves astray none can guide.
And we bear witness that there is no god except Allah who is alone and who has
no partner and we bear witness that Sayyidina Muhammad is His servant and
Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family and companions and may He favour
him and give him peace a complete peace abundantly.
I seek refuge in
Allah from the accursed Satan. In the Name of Allah the Compassionate, the
Merciful.
"And those who hoard up gold and silver and expend it not in
the way of Allah, so give them the glad tidings of a painful chastisement, on
the day when it shall (all) be heated in the Fire of Hell, and there with their
foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded, (saying), This is
what you hoarded up for yourselves, so taste you now what you used to hoard up.”
(At-Tawbah, 9:34-35)
I have believed in Allah. Allah, our Great
Protector, has spoken the Truth and His Messenger, the noble Prophet, has spoken
the Truth and we are witnesses over that and grateful. Praise belongs to Allah,
Lord of the worlds.
Introduction
The
gathering today has before it the subject of Zakah- There are a few days to the
month of Ramadan and Muslims generally pay Zakah in this holy month. So, the
time is opportune to discuss the importance of Zakah, its virtues and the
necessary procedure and rules. This will enable us to pay Zakah
properly.
Admonition for not paying
Zakah
It is for this reason that I have quoted two verses of
the Holy Quran. These verses speak of the serious warning that Allah has given
to those people who do not pay Zakah on their assets as prescribed. Very strong
words are used to warn them of the punishment. So, the Qur'an says, "Those who hoard up
gold and silver and expend not in the way of Allah so (O Prophet) give them
tidings, of a severe punishment." These are the people who continue to hoard
their wealth, gold and silver and do not spend in the cause of Allah and do not
fulfill the duties imposed on them by Allah so let them have the glad tidings of
a painful punishment. Then, the next verse describes the kind of the painful
punishment. This punishment will be awarded on the day when the gold and silver
will be heated in the fir of Hell and with it the man's forehead, and his sides
and back will be branded. And it will be said to him:
This is what you
hoarded up for yourself so taste now what you used to hoard up. May Allah
preserve all Muslims from this Punishment. Aameen
The fate of the people
is described who store up wealth but fail to discharge their duties correctly.
The warning is given not merely in these verses but it is given in other verses
of the Qur'an too. For instance, we are told in surah al Humazah.
Wo to
every slanderer, defamer, who amasses wealth and counts it. He thinks that his
wealth will make him live forever! Certainly not! He shall be thrown into the
Hutamah. And what the Hutamah is? It is the fire kindled by Allah, which roars
over the hearts, (al Humazah, 104:1-7)
He will be punished because of his
wealth against which he did not pay the dues. The Hutamah is a fire kindled by
Allah not by any man whose kindled fire can be extinguished by water or sand.
The fire kindled by Allah will burn man's heart and liver (that is it will reach
upto his heart and liver). This is a very grave warning. May Allah protect every
Muslim from it. Aameen!
From where is the wealth
coming
Why is such a strong warning given for not paying
zakah? It is to be considered first where one gets one's wealth from? Whether he
is engaged in business, employment, agriculture or in other occupation, does he
think that he amassed the wealth by his own effort? In fact, it is a system
drawn up by Allah through which He provides livelihood to different
people.
Who sends the
customers?
A
shopkeeper supposes that he has opened his shop and sells his merchandise and so
earns wealth but he does not consider who sends customers to his shop. Suppose
if no customer had visited him, would he have earned money? It is Allah who
sends his customers and who has formed a system whereby each fulfils the need of
the other. He prompts one to set up a shop and another to visit his
shop.
An
eye-opening event
I had an elder brother, Muhammad Zaki
Kayfi, may Allah elevate his rank. He had a bookshop in
However, my brother had lived with the religious-minded and had
been with Mawlana Thanavi (rah) so he said to himself, "It is okay if no
customer visits my shop but Allah made it a source of my livelihood so it is my
duty to open it and wait. To get a customer to visit my shop is not my task; it
is on someone else to send him to me. I must not lag behind in my duty whether
it rains or there is flood." So, he took his umbrella and waded through water to
his shop. He opened it and waited for his customers. Not expecting one, he
opened the Qur'an and began reciting it. Hardly had he begun the recital when he
saw some men in raincoats and holding umbrellas enter his shop to buy books and
he wondered what had made them brave in the rain and floods to visit a bookshop.
This happened all day and his sale that day was the same as his sale on a normal
day. He then realised that the customers did not come on their own but were sent
by someone because He has appointed his livelihood through his shop.
Distribution of labour is by
Allah
It is a system organised by Allah that He sends
customers to different people. No one else has distributed different tasks and
business to different people. It is Allah who has put in the hearts of men that
they should do different tasks and take up different occupations and businesses.
Someone sells cloth, someone shoes, someone rice, someone utensils and so on. In
this way everyone sees to the needs of the other. There has never been an
intentional worldwide distribution of labour whereby everyone was asked to do
something or the other. It has been an automatic, unplanned distribution of
tasks. The result is that everything that is necessary is available in the
market and there is a buyer for everything sold. In other words, a means of
livelihood is available to different people. This system is orginised by Allah
and it provides livelihood to different people.
Who grows food from the
land
Whether one is engaged in a business, in farming or in
an employment, He is Allah who really provides sustenance. Let us take
agriculture for example. The farmer tends to the land and sows the seeds. He
then irrigates the land but He is Allah alone who causes the seed to sprout. A
seed which really is lifeless and weightless but it pierces the tough earth to
make itself known. Its roots are very delicate, so much that even a child may
undo them with his fingers but they are strong enough to tolerate the severity
of the varying seasons and the winds. Passing different stages, the seed finally
grows the fruit that is consumed by the people the world over. Allah alone
brings these things to happen.
Man is not capable of producing
anything
Therefore, whatever the means of income, man is on
the earth to do a limited task and he does that but he is not able to cause
anything to grow. He is Allah alone who produces what is necessary and grants it
to mankind whatever man has is a blessing from Allah
To Allah belongs
whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. (Ai-Baqarah.
2:284)
The
real master is Allah
After giving things to man, Allah also
said to him, "You are the owner." Thus, He has said in Surah Yasin.
"Have
they not seen that we have created for them - among the things which our hands
have fashioned-cattle that they own." (Surah Yasin. 36:71) "I was the Real Owner
but I made you the owners. So in the things that have come to your possession
true right belongs to Me. Then spend in the way, I have commanded you." If a man
spends in accordance with the commands of Allah then the rest of his possessions
are lawful for him and blessings of Allah are on those possessions. If he does
not give from his wealth what Allah has asked him to give then all of it is fire
for him and he will experience the fire on the Day of Resurrection when he will
be branded with it and told, "This is the wealth that you had
amassed."
Only 2 1/2% is to be
paid
If Allah had said, "Keep to yourself the 2 1/2% and
spend in His way the rest 97 1/2% then that would have been just because all
really belongs to Him and is granted by Him. But He is Merciful to His slaves
and asked them to retain the bulk share of 97 1/2% and spend in His way only 2
1/2% because man is inclined towards possession. The 97 1/2% will then become
lawful and pure; it may be spent on his lawful personal
needs.
Emphasis on
Zakah
The 2 1/2% is zakah. The Quran has said about it. And
establish the Salah, and pay the Zakah. (al-Baqarah, 2:43)
At the same
time as prayer is mentioned, Zakah is also mentioned. This is the importance
attached to Zakah. lf that is the case and the wealth also is a grant from Allah
then a Muslim must, at least, make the 2 1/2% payment in accordance with the
Command of Allah. He will not suffer anything if he pays this small
amount.
Zakah must be
calculated and paid
Many
people just neglect payment of Zakah. They simply do not pay it. There are some
others who pay Zakah but do not bother to calculate the correct procedure is to
assess the wealth and possessions and pay the 2 1 / 2% on it. They shy away from
counting their stocks and possessions and estimate the Zakah payable on that.
This could lead to an error and a lesser amount could have been estimated and
even if an insignificant amount as low as one rupee is underpaid then it is
enough to ruin the rest of the wealth. If an over payment is made then,
InshaAllah, there will be no questioning on that.
When Property causes
Ruin
We are told in a Hadith that the Messenger
of Allah (saws) said, "When zakah becomes part of a wealth - that is, when full
zakah is not paid but something of it remains unpaid - then that wealth becomes
a means of ruin for the owner." Therefore, we must be careful in evaluating our
wealth and pay the full zakah due on it otherwise the obligation remains
unobserved. By the Grace of Allah, a majority of Muslims pay zakah but they are
not careful in making a proper calculation before paying it with the result that
something of zakah remains included in their wealth. That becomes a cause of
destruction and ruin.
Benefits of Zakah in this
life
Zakah must be paid with the intention that the command
of Allah is being observed, it is the demand of His pleasure and a form of
worship is being fulfilled. Whether benefit from that payment or not, our aim
should be to obtain the pleasure of Allah. This is the true aim of zakah. It is
the mercy of Allah on us that when anyone pays zakah, Allah lets him have its
benefits too. His possessions and wealth are blessed as we are told in the Quran
an
Allah blots out usury and augments charity (al-Baqarah,
2:276)
A Haidth quotes the Holy Prophet (saws) as saying, "When a slave
of Allah pays zakah, the Angels of Allah pray for him in these words :
"O
Allah! Grant abundance to him who spends (in Your cause) and destroy him who
does not spend and restricts to himself his wealth." (Bukhari Book of
Zakah)
That is why, he said : Charity does not diminish wealth
So, it happens sometimes that as a Muslim pays Zakah, Allah opens for
him
Consequences of lack of
blessings in wealth
Today, everyone believes in numbers. No
one understands what one means by blessings. It is the name given to benefit
beyond expectation from something- For example, someone earns a lot of money
someday and takes his earnings home only to find a child ill and only one visit
to a doctor costs him all his day's earnings. This means that there was lack of
blessings in his earnings. Or, he encounters bandits on the way who disown him
of his earnings. This is also an example of lack of blessings in his wealth. Or,
the man buys food from his earnings and eats it only to get indigestion. This
again is an example of lack of blessings in his earnings. On the other hand,
blessings in a man's earnings allow him to reap more benefit from his little
earnings than he had expected. Allah showers blessings on him who does what
Allah has commanded him to do. Therefore, we must pay zakah on our wealth in the
manner Allah and His Messenger (saws) have instructed us to pay and make a
correct calculation, not a mere conjecture.
The Nisab of
Zakah
Allah has prescribed a Nisab (standard) for Zakah.
Nisab is the minimum amount of property liable to payment of zakah. If anyone
owns property less than the Nisab then he is not liable to pay zakah but when he
possess the nisab he becomes liable to pay zakah on it. The nisab is :fifty two
and a half tolas of silver or its value in cash or jewellery or commercial
merchandise. The person who has this much wealth is known as Sahib Nisab (owner
of the property liable to zakah).
It is not necessary that each
rupee should have been owned for a year
Zakah is payable by
the Sahib Nisab when he has the nisab in his hands for a year. Zakah is then
wajib on him. There is a misconception generally that a man should have every
part of his money or wealth for a year to be called a Sahib Nisab and only then
will zakah be wajib on him. It is not so. Rather, if a man becomes a Sahib Nisab
at one time say the 1st of Ramadan and then again on the next 1st Ramadan he is
a Sahib Nisab. He is liable to pay zakah even if during the year he did not
constantly have that much wealth. On the 1st Ramadan when the first year is over
and the next begins he will pay zakah on what he owns even if he may have had
some of the wealth only for a day.
Zakah is payable on the wealth
one owns on the date of Zakah
For example, a man had a
hundred thousand rupees on the 1st of Ramadan. Next year two days before this
date he received another fifty thousand rupees so on the 1st Ramadan he had a
hundred and fifty thousand rupees. It is now fard (absolute obligation) to pay
zakah on this amount of a hundred and fifty thousand rupees. He cannot argue
that he has had fifty thousand rupees for only two days so he will not pay zakah
on that amount because that money has not been with him for a year. Rather, he
will consider the date of payment of zakah, the date when he became a Sahib
Nisab, and value his assets and pay zakah on these assets. The value may be more
than the last year's value or it may have become less. For example, he had a
hundred thousand rupees last year and he may have a hundred and fifty thousand
in the current year so he will pay zakah on the current value of a hundred and
fifty thousand rupees. Or, he may have only fifty thousand rupees this year then
he will pay zakah on the amount of fifty thousand rupees only. The amount of
money spent during the year is not calculated and no zakah is paid on the money
so spent. Allah has spared man from the intricacies of accounting and has
prescribed an easy method so that he has not to worry about the money that he
has spent and used up. In the same way, whatever money is received during the
year has not to be recorded separately. It is so simple that whatever money and
assets a man has on the date of zakah, he will pay zakah on that amount. This is
the meaning of the words 'passing of a year.'
On what heads is Zakah
payable
It is one of the several favours of Allah on us that
He has not made it fard (obligatory) on us to pay zakah on every item we
possess, for there are different heads of assets a man may own. The items on
which zakah is fard are:
(1) Cash in any form like currency notes or
coins.
(2) Gold and Silver whether jewelry or coins. Some people suppose that
jewelry used by women is not liable to zakah which is a wrong notion. The truth
is that zakah is payable on the jewelry that is worn or used and made of gold or
silver; however, zakah is not applied on jewelry made of any other metal such as
platinum. Similarly, zakah is not paid on pearl or jewel as long as they are in
personal use and not for business purposes.
We must not apply reasoning in
these matters
We must remember that zakah is a form of
worship and a duty imposed on us by Allah. Some people try to reason out the
wisdom behind different rulings and ask why zakah is applied on some things and
not on others. To pay zakah is to perform a worship whether we understand the
reason behind it or not. Thus, we cannot ask why zakah is payable on gold and
silver and not on Pearls, jewels and platinum. It is like asking why the Maghrib
prayer is not reduced during a journey while the Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers are
reduced to the Qasr. Qasr for these three prayers two is rakaat each instead of
four while one is travelling. Or, it is like asking why a passenger who travels
luxuriously by first class in an airline is allowed to offer Qasr prayers while
another traveling with great difficulty in a local bus within his city not
allowed to offer Qasr prayers. The answer to all such questions is the same that
these are rules of worship prescribed by Allah and these rules must be respected
otherwise the worship will be meaningless.
To offer worship is to obey the
Command of Allah
It is also like asking why Hajj is observed
on 9th Zul Hajjah and not on just any day convenient to a pilgrim, and why stay
just one day at 'Arafah and not three days. Obviously, if anyone stays at Arafah
for three days instead of one day his Hajj will not be valid because he does not
follow the method prescribed by Allah. Again, a man cannot say that he will
perform the Rami of the Jamarat all together on the fourth day instead of the
three days of Hajj. Rami is the casting of pebbles on the Jamarat, the pillars
marking places where Satan tried to tempt Sayyidina Ismail (as) This also is a
form of worship and a worship should be performed in its prescribed manner
otherwise it is invalid and meaningless. Thus they raise an objection on the
levy of zakah on gold and silver and not on pearl is to question the philosophy
of worship-Nevertheless, Allah has prescribed zakah on gold and silver whether
in use or not, and on cash money.
Method of
valuing merchandise of trade
Zakah is
also paid on merchandise of trade. For instance, if someone has stock-in-trade
at his shop then he will have to pay zakah on all his stock. However, at the
time of valuation the shop-keeper is at liberty to value his stock at the price
his good would fetch if sold in bulk. There is a retail price, a wholesale price
and a price that would apply to the entire stock sold together. So, there is a
scope to price the stock at such a price and then pay zakah at 2 1/2%; however,
it is safer to use the wholesale price.
What is
stock-in-trade
Everything that a man buys with intent to
re-sell is stock-in-trade. Thus, if anyone buys a piece of land to re-sell at a
higher price, or a house or car, then these things are his trading merchandise.
Zakah is wajib (obligatory) on all these things because he had acquired them
with intent to sell. Many people buy a piece of land as an investment intending
to sell it later at a higher price and making a profit in the process. Zakah is
payable on the value of this land. However, if anyone buys a piece of land with
the hope that if he has an opportunity he will construct a house thereon for his
personal use, or give it on rent or alternatively, sell it off so having' no
definite intentions;. he has not made a choice of the three options then zakah
is not payable on that piece of land. Zakah is only wajib when the intention at
the time of buying was clearly to re-sell. Even if anyone buys a piece of land
with intent to construct a house for himself but later on he changes his mind
and decides to sell it, a mere change of intention does not involve any
liability on him to pay Zakah; only after he actually sells the land and
receives the sale proceeds will he have to pay zakah on that.
So,
everything that is bought with intent to re-sell is stock-in-trade and attracts
zakah at two-and-a-half percent
The date of
valuation
It must be remembered too that the date of
valuation is the date of calculation of zakah. If a piece of land was purchased
for a hundred thousand rupees and values a million rupees on that date then will
zakah be paid, on the latter value and not on one hundred thousand
rupees.
Zakah on share
certificates
Share Certificates are also stock-in-trade.
There are two possibilities: a man may buy shares to receive annual profit from
the company and another may buy them to sell them at a higher price.
In the
second case where a man buys shares with intent to do business and sell them at
a higher price then zakah is wajib on the full market value of the shares. For
instance, if the purchase price was Rs.50 and the current market value is Rs.60
on the day of calculating zakah then the shares will be valued at Rs.60 and
zakah is to be paid at 2 1/2%.
However, in the first case where the man
did no intend to re-sell his shares at the time of purchase but hoped to receive
annual profit on them he is allowed to find out the fixed assets of the company
and its liquid assets and he may pay zakah on the proportion of liquid assets in
his shares. The fixed assets include building-machinery, cars, etc. while the
liquid assets comprise of cash, stock-in-trade, raw material and finished
goods-Suppose, the fixed assets form forty percent of its overall assets and the
liquid assets form sixty percent, the share-holder will value his share holdings
at the market value and pay zakah on sixty percent of that value. Thus, if the
market value of each share is Rs.60 and the assets on which zakah is payable
comprise 60% of the assets while the remaining do not attract zakah then the
value of each share liable to zakah is Rs.36. If this data cannot be found out
from any company then zakah will be paid on the full market value.
Every
other financial instrument apart from shares will be categorised with cash
whether they are bonds or certificates. Zakah will be paid on their face
value.
Factory Assets that attract Zakah
The finished product in a
factory is liable to be valued for zakah. In the same way, zakah is payable on
the merchandise at different stages of production and on raw materials. However,
zakah is not payable on factory machinery, building, cars etc.
In the
same way, if anyone is a partner in a business then he will be liable to pay
Zakah on the market value of his share in business.
In short, zakah is
payable on cash which includes cash at bank and financial instruments, on
stock-in-trade that includes finished products, raw material and merchandise
under different stages of production, on share certificates which are also
included in stock-in-trade, and on everything else that is classified as
stock-in-trade which anyone has bought with intent to re-sell.
At the
time of paying zakah the gross value of all these things must be found out and
zakah paid on that value.
Zakah on Loans
Receivable
Apart from
these, certain sums of money are receivable from other people. Either loans are
given to them or sales are made to them on credit. So, when one calculates the
gross value on which he has to pay Zakah, he must include sums receivable from
all such sundry debtors. Although Shari'ah tells us that until sums receivable
are not actually received Zakah is not payable on them yet when they are
received Zakah is paid for every past year it was payable on them but not paid.
For example, if anyone had loaned another person a sum of a hundred thousand
rupees and he receives it back after five years then although it was not Wajib
for him to pay Zakah on this sum of money for the five years yet once he had
received it back then he will have to pay Zakah for each of those five years.
Now, since it becomes very difficult sometimes to pay previous dues of Zakah all
together so it is better to pay it each year regularly on the loan receivable.
So, when a man calculates the Zakah payable to him, he may include sums
receivable in the gross value.
Debts be
deducted
The debts payable must be added up and their total
deducted from the gross value of possessions on which Zakah is payable. On the
net value, Zakah is paid at 2 1/ 2%. It is better to keep apart the Zakah
payable and disburse it among those entitled to receive it from time to
time.
Loans are of two
kinds
We must understand that loans are of two kinds. The
first kind is that loan which one ordinarily borrows for personal meds or to
meet contingencies. The second type of loans are those which the capitalists
take to finance their commercial projects for expansion. For instance, they
borrow to set up a factory, buy machinery, import trading merchandise or to set
up additional factories, etc. Now, if this second kind of borrowing is deducted
from the gross value of possessions to arrive at the net wealth that attracts
zakah, then not only will these capitalists find themselves not liable to pay
zakah but also in fact, some of them might find that they are entitled to
receive zakah. This is because they borrow from the financial institutions more
than what they possess of zakah leviable wealth. They are poor people from this
point of view. Therefore,
When are commercial borrowings
deducted
The first kind of loans will be deducted from the
gross value and zakah will be paid on the net value. As for the second kind of
borrowings, if anyone borrows money for commercial purpose to finance anything
on which zakah is levied (for instance, raw material) then the borrowings will
be deducted from the gross value. But. if the borrowings are to finance such
things as do not attract zakah then the loans will not be deducted from the
gross value.
Examples of
borrowings
Suppose someone borrows from a bank ten million
rupees to buy machinery. Since zakah is not levied on plant and machinery, the
loan will not be deducted from the gross value of his assets on which zakah is
payable. But, if he purchased raw material from the borrowed money then the
value of borrowings will be deducted from the gross zakah leviable value because
the raw material itself attracts zakah, and is already included in the gross
value.
In
short, normal borrowings are deducted from the gross value but commercial
borrowings are not deducted if used to finance something on which Zakah is not
paid, but deducted if used to finance anything on which Zakah is paid. These
were rules concerning payment of Zakah.
Zakah is paid to the
entitled
Let us now see the rules concerning disbursement of
zakah. My respected father, Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Shafi (rah) used to say that
Allah has not asked us to just give out zakah but He has commanded us to pay it
carefully and distribute it to the proper entitled people, not give it out
injudiciously. The directions of
Who
is entitled?
The entitled
must be handed over ownership
The Shari
ah commands us that the person entitled to zakah must be made owner of it when
the amount is paid over to him. This means that he should have a free say in his
property. This is why zakah cannot be used to construct a building and cannot be
paid as salary of the employees of an institution. If it was allowed to use
zakah to build and establish institutions then it would have been misused, the
buildings require much money and the institutions pay heavy salaries. Therefore,
one who is not a Sahib Nisab must be paid zakah and transferred ownership over
it. Zakah must be paid to only such people and only then is zakah validly
paid.
The relatives who may be paid
Zakah
The duty to pay zakah encourages the Muslim to
spend the money under this head in a proper cause. He looks out for the right
people and makes out a list of those entitled to receive it. He then disburses
the amount to these people and it is one of his responsibilities to do so. One
must pay zakah to those who are entitled and who live in his neighbourhood, who
are his acquaintances, relatives and friends. The most excellent act in the
payment of zakah is to pay it to those of one's relatives who are entitled and
this secures him a dual reward - against payment of Zakah and against
strengthening ties of relationship. Zakah may be paid to every relative who is
entitled to it except two the relationship of father and son so neither father
nor son can Pay it to the other, and the marital relationship so the spouses
cannot pay of zakah to one another. All other relationship do not bar payment of
Zakah, for example, one can pay it to a brother and a sister, an uncle or an
aunt whether paternal or maternal, the only condition is that they should be
entitled to it.
The command to pay Zakah to a
widow and to orphans
Some people suppose that a widow must be
paid zakah preferably but the condition stands here too that she must be one who
is entitled to it and not a Sahib Nisab. If she is thus entitled then it is
excellent to pay zakah to her. But, if she is a widow but not entitled then
being a widow does not qualify her to receive zakah. In the same way, it is
excellent to pay zakah to an orphan provided he is entitled to it but if he is
not entitled being a Sahib Nisab then it does not qualify him to receive the
zakah, although he is an orphan. These rules must be borne in mind while paying
zakah to anyone.
Deduction of Zakah from Bank
Accounts
For some time now, zakah is collected by the
government and the financial institutions do it for the government as also some
companies who deduct zakah and pay it to the government. This calls for some
comments.
As far as banks and financial institutions are concerned, zakah
of a person stands paid when deducted by them and he is not required to pay that
again. However, he may form an intention on the 1st of Ramadan as a
precautionary measure that he is paying the zakah so that his duty in this
regard is discharged and he may not pay it again. Some people are in doubt that
before the full year passed on their entire wealth, zakah is being deducted on
all of it. I have stated earlier in this discourse that it is not necessary that
a full year should pass on every part of the wealth. If anyone is a Sahib Nisab
then even the wealth he gets a day before the year ends will be added to the
gross value and the zakah deducted on it is correctly charged because zakah is
wajib on that wealth.
Deduction of loan from the Bank
Balance
However, someone may have all his wealth in cash in a
bank account and not have anything else with himself. Then, he may also be a
debtor and have to pay to other people, the bank will deduct zakah on the due
date and he will not be able to deduct the "payables" from his gross wealth.
There is one solution for that. He may withdraw the money from his account or
transfer it to a current account before zakah is deducted because zakah is not
deducted from a current account. Let me mention here in passing that everyone
must maintain a current account and not a savings account because interest is
paid on the savings accounts and that is unlawful. When he withdraws his money
from the savings account, or transfers it, he will be able to take into account
the "Payables" while calculating zakah. Alternatively, he may write to the Bank
that he is not a Sahib Nisab and not liable to pay zakah. According to law, the
Bank will not deduct zakah from his account when he writes to them in this
way.
Deduction of Zakah on Shares by
the Company
There is also the question of shares. When the
company pays the annual dividend, it also deducts zakah but it calculates zakah
on its face value while it should have been on the market value. So, while the
zakah has been duly paid to the extent of the face value, the shareholder must
calculate the difference between the market value and face value on the basis of
the explanation under the head "Zakah On Share Certificates". For instance, the
face value of a share is fifty rupees on which the company deducts zakah but the
market value is sixty rupees, so the share-holder must pay zakah on ten rupees
by himself. This applies to share certificates and N.I.T. Units. Thus, whenever
zakah has been deducted on face value, the difference between the market value
and face value must be calculated and zakah paid thereon.
The date of
Zakah
Shari ah has not fixed a date for calculating zakah nor
any period or date for its payment. In fact, every person may have his own date.
In the eyes of
Can one fix a date in
Ramadan
Normally, people pay zakah in the month of Ramadan
because a Hadith tells us that
observance of a fard (absolute obligation) in Ramadan entitles to a reward equal
to seventy times. Thus payment of zakah will also fetch them a reward seventy
times the normal reward. This is a correct thinking and commendable too but if
anyone remembers his date when he became a Sahib Nisab then it is wrong for him
to seek a date in Ramadan. He must calculate his zakah on the date he remembers;
however, if he pays the calculated zakah in small amounts then he may pay the
remaining in the month of Ramadan. If he does not remember his date then there
is an excuse for him to fix a date in Ramadan. But he must pay a little more so
that he may make up for any shortage because of difference in date.
Then
He may go by that date every year and calculate his wealth accordingly. He may
add up his wealth on that date, cash, gold holdings, shares, stock-in-trade,
etc. and get their values on that date. He may not then change the date
again.
This was a little comment on zakah. May Allah cause us to observe
the commands that call on us to pay zakah. Aameen.