Can Zakat from Past Years Be Paid in Instalments?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If the wife and husband decide that they do not want to sell gold jewelry for previous years’ Zakat payment, and also, her Zakat for 30-33 years may be more than the entire monetary value of the jewelry itself, and her husband agrees to pay monthly in installments, but this would take about 2-3 years due to the large amount.

Is the wife allowed to insist on collective payment, which implies giving her 20 lac all at once rather than in monthly installments, knowing that he will most likely become upset or distressed with the same debate because monthly payment has previously been agreed upon?

If she accepts monthly payments alone, would she be sinful for the delay since she didn’t insist on collective payment all at once? Is the delay forgiven?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Firstly, Zakat is an individual obligation. Each spouse is obliged to pay their own Zakat for that which they possess. If there share possession of something and Zakat is due on that item – Zakat is obligatory on each individual spouse in accordance with their percentage of ownership of that item. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

The husband is not obliged to pay the wife’s zakat, just as the wife is not obliged to pay the husband’s zakat. [Ibid.]

Paying Past Zakat in Instalments

If one can comfortably pay all the back zakat in one payment, that is ideal. The back zakat is an obligation on their shoulders. They are accountable for it and will be asked by Allah Most High regarding it. This is in addition to the fact that we can die anytime.

If, however, one is unable to pay all of the back taxes in one payment, it is permissible for them to give out their zakat to eligible recipients in installments.

Related:
Zakat: A Comprehensive SeekersGuidance Reader
SeekersGuidance Zakat Calculator

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.