Am I Obligated to Pay the Zakat of My Wife, Even Though We Have Not Consummated the Marriage?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
I am 21 and recently had my Nikah overseas; my spouse is still overseas. We have not consummated our marriage yet because they are waiting until we move in together in the US. My question was, am I now obligated to pay her Zakat since we are technically married but far apart?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
The husband is not obligated to pay the Zakat of his wife, nor is she obligated to pay his Zakat. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]
Zakat is a personal obligation for one’s own personal wealth. [Ibid.]
It is permissible for the husband to assist his wife in paying her zakat. [Ibid.]
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.
