What Are My Allowable Zakat Deductions?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I would like to know what deductions are permissible from the amount owed due to the liabilities I have. I have listed the potential deductions I believe I can make or have questions about, and Insha’Allah, I hope you can clarify which can be deducted and which cannot be deducted:
For context, my Zakat became due on the 1st Rajab this year (23rd January 2023.)
I am not a homeowner; I rent a flat, and my rent is due to the landlord on the 1st of every month (Gregorian calendar.) Can I subtract the monthly rent amount from the Zakat owed for only that month of January 2023, or may I subtract the amount owed for the whole lunar year (Rajab 1444 to Rajab 1445?)
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Upcoming Expenses
You may deduct your expenses for the upcoming month of January 2023, such as rent, fuel, bills, food, etc. One is not obligated to deduct upcoming expenses – as not doing so is more beneficial to the poor and facilitates greater giving. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Ala’ al-din Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]
Zakat Calculation
So you would:
- Calculate all of your zakatable assets — gold, silver, cash/savings, money lent out, trade goods, stocks, and so on, and
- Deduct debts and immediate expenses for up to a month. After that, if you have the zakatable minimum (nisab), it would be obligatory to pay Zakat.
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
