Mon 13 رمضان 1447 (02 Mar 2026)
[When the Owner May Delay Disbursing Zakat]
Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
Fatwa number: 17148
Number of views: 4
[When the Owner May Delay Disbursing Zakat]
Fatwa number: 17148
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Question: If a man has a large amount of zakat, is he required to distribute it all at the end of the zakat year? Is it permissible for him to disburse it gradually throughout the year, since many poor people come to him over the course of the year?
Answer: If the best interest of the poor is served by distributing zakat to them gradually over the year, then such gradual disbursement is permissible—indeed, it is preferable—because it meets the needs of the poor throughout the year. Allah the Exalted legislated and made zakat obligatory in order to meet the needs of the poor.
It is neither fitting nor permissible for the wealthy person to withhold the zakat of his wealth while there are needy poor in his presence. Nor is it permissible for him to withhold it so as to profit from it in trade while needy poor exist.
He may, however, hold it back with the aim of allocating it to believing poor students of knowledge who are dignified in their self-restraint, even if there are needy poor present who are not of that kind; and likewise, he may hold it back in order to allocate it to a needy relative.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1
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