Mon 13 رمضان 1447 (02 Mar 2026)
[Zakāh Issues 2]
Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
Fatwa number: 17083
Number of views: 7
[Zakāh Issues 2]
Fatwa number: 17083
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He, Exalted is He, says: “And He is the One Who produces trellised and untrellised gardens, date palms and crops of different kinds of food, and olives and pomegranates—similar and dissimilar. Eat of its fruit when it ripens, and give its due on the day of its harvest.” [al-Anʿām:141] Does the verse imply that what is eaten up to the point of harvest is not subject to zakāh?
And why is zakāh not guaranteed except after harvest—so that if the wealth perishes before it, there is no liability?
And is there a text obligating zakāh on what is consumed before harvest, or a strong proof—given that, with other zakātable assets, zakāh is not due on what the owner consumes, such as sheep, trade-goods, and the like?
– And is it permissible to pay zakāh in advance, before harvest or before the obligation falls, on the assumption that it will become due on that year’s crop (or another)?
– And is it permissible that I give a poor person cash as a loan on condition that he appoint me as his agent to receive zakāh on his behalf and settle his debt—so that, whenever zakāh becomes due on me, I receive it by the poor man’s agency and take it against what he owes me?
– And if a man has gold belonging to his wife (not as her dowry) such that, were he to wish to take it back, he could—and he himself also owns silver, even if only a ring—does he appraise the gold together with the silver and pay zakāh, since both are in his ownership? Or is what is a woman’s jewelry distinct from what he himself wears as a ring?
Answer:
Zakāh is not due on what the earth brings forth until the time of its harvest. Before the time of harvest, there is no zakāh due. The time of harvest is when the fruit becomes fit for eating, or when the grain shows readiness for harvesting. At that point, zakāh is due—even if it has not yet been reaped.
Once the fruit is fit for eating, zakāh becomes due—even if it has not been picked. If the fruit then perishes on the trees after having become fit for eating, it is guaranteed (liable) if its loss was due to the owner’s negligence; but if it perishes before the time of its fitness for eating, then it is not guaranteed, because at that point zakāh had not yet become due.
– As for zakāh on sheep, cattle, and trade-goods: zakāh is only due when a lunar year (ḥawl) has elapsed. The elapsing of the year is analogous to the harvest. Thus, when the year has elapsed—or when the time of harvest arrives (namely, the fruit’s fitness for eating)—zakāh becomes due. There is no difference between the two matters—so reflect.
It is not valid to pay in advance the zakāh due on what the earth brings forth before its obligation—i.e., before its harvest time—even if one thinks it will become due.
There is no objection to a poor person appointing you as his agent to receive zakāh on his behalf so that you settle what he owes—whether to you or to someone else.
– The scholars of the school have said: silver is combined with gold (for the niṣāb). What I see, however, is that gold is one genus and silver is another; one is not combined with the other. This is the view of some of our scholars—may Allah be pleased with them.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1
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