The Fiqh of Zakat: Nisab, The Lunar Year, Advance Payments, and The Hashimi

Imagine a beautiful garden with plants and flowers. It is essential to remove weeds for the garden to thrive. This is the original meaning of the word zakat. This is the seventh in a series of articles on Understanding Zakat: Practical Guidance on the Wisdom, Rules, and Etiquette of Giving Zakat.

Zakat is only due if you possess more than a Zakat-able minimum. This is the Nisab. At the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), the Nisab was calculated either in gold or silver. What has happened is that the value of gold and silver has parted. Gold has become much more dear and silver has become relatively cheaper than gold. Therefore, the Nisab for silver is significantly lower than the Nisab for gold. 

There is a difference of opinion as to what the Zakatable minimum is. If you are below the net Zakatable minimum, you can accept Zakat. If you have more the net Zakatable minimum and meet the conditions, you must give Zakat. The legally most consistent position would be that there should be one consideration for what the Zakatable minimum is. Otherwise, you could be in a situation where you consider the lower Nisab in terms of the obligation and the higher Nisab for the obligation to receive. It makes not sense that you have to give Zakat and have the right to receive Zakat at the same time. You simply are not poor and rich at the same time. 

Certainly, in terms of whom you give it to, consider gold Nisab. Someone with less than a couple of thousand in their bank account, net of all upcoming expenses, is on the verge of poverty. 

A Year Passing and Deduction

Zakah is due once you possess the Zakatable minimum and a year passes. This is the Hawl.

When it comes to the Zakatable minimum, two matters are deducted from it. The first is your upcoming debts. The scholars of Fiqh have divided debts into two types. There are the debts that are upcoming and those are either already due upon you or that are due within the year. Secondly, there are long-term debts such as a mortgage that one is going to be paying for the house over 20 years. 

For someone who has bought a house or a car, would you consider that person to be legally poor? No. By default, you should deduct the upcoming payment of your debt. You can deduct up to a year’s worth of upcoming payments. If you are earning month to month like most people do, you should only deduct of debt payments the next month’s payments because the month after that will be covered by the next paycheck. If Zubair took out a $5000 loan to get married and the whole thing is due, he can deduct that because that is immediately due. As for other things, deduct the upcoming payment.

Anything that is due past a year is considered long-term. For long-term debts, you would only consider the upcoming payment. The best thing is to consider the payments that are due upon you within the month. If you know you have to pay $10,000 in fees by August 20th for example, you could deduct that because it is a known upcoming expense. However, unless it’ll adversely affect you, it is better not to.

Zakat Due Date

In the Hanafi school, Zakat is due on a certain date so what you have of Zakatable wealth on that date is what you have to pay. Once you own the net Zakatable minimum your Zakat year starts. For example, on the first of Rajab, you own the net Zakatable minimum, this is when the Zakat year starts. The next year, on that day, Zakat would be due on you if you own a Zakatable minimum, if you own less than that, you do not. This does not mean that it is unlawful to give. If the following year a person owns slightly less than the Zakatable minimum but still wants to give Zakat consider it charity. But he should not feel obligated for it.  

If someone is a legally poor person they can still give in charity if they want, as long as it does not vitiate other responsibilities. Let’s say when Zubair turned 18, his dad very dramatically at 12:01 am says, “Son, here is $100,000.” Zubair then blows the whole money and the father says, “I’m not giving you any more.” However, his birthday is coming up again so five minutes before midnight, his aunt gives him a million dollars. If Zubair took possession of it before his Zakat is due, Zakat is due on the whole amount. The opposite is also true. If you give away all your wealth before the Zakat is due, you do not have to pay Zakat. 

Advance Payment

You are only harming yourself if you play legal tricks. Thankfully, legal tricks are hard to play. They say playing tricks with your Zakat, to avoid the obligation in the normal case, is sinful because you are trying to cheat God. Do not play tricks asou are harming yourself because you are missing out on an obligatory act.

You can pay Zakat in advance. You can pay it on a monthly basis, as long you ensure that you’ve ended up paying at least the amount that was due. And you can even pay Zakat years in advance if you want. That is fine as long as you do it properly.

The obligation of Zakat relates to the lunar calendar. So if you peg it to the solar calendar then every two or three years, push it back a month. So if every two years, you move it back a month you have taken care of it. Wealth normally does not fluctuate in huge amounts. So if one wanted to pay their Zakat one day before the due date, in one day, how much is their wealth likely going to fluctuate? You give a little more and it’ll cover it.

The Hashimite

Zakat cannot be given to someone from the family of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).  You cannot give Zakat to someone who is a descendant of the family of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). However, one of the responsibilities of a Muslim community or a Muslim ruler would be to ensure that poor members of the prophetic family are taken care of. 

In a chapter in Sahih Bukhari, it is reported that Abu Bakr said, “Be mindful of Muhammad in his household,” Allah bless him and give him peace. That is a separate duty upon the nation (Umma). Certain categories of public funds are supposed to be set aside to ensure that members of the prophetic family are not needy. 

Also, members of the prophetic family are not supposed to accept Zakat due to the dignity of being of the descendants of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) could accept gifts but not charity.

The Exception

Zakat specifically is not permitted for the family of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The exception to that is in a situation where there are no other ways to take care of those who are needy from the prophetic family. In that case, a lot of the jurists have made an exception. They say the etiquette of doing that is you do not tell them it is Zakat.

In certain cases, you can deny that some funds are Zakat, if the person (even if they are not from the family of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)) is deserving but they would not accept it. 

Sometimes, there are people who out of their own dignified restraint would not accept Zakat. They would not even accept charity. You are allowed to deny that it is charity. Say it is just a gift because they may be in desperate need. Many people have this thing where they do not accept charity but they are in a very bad situation. This can cause many other problems such as trouble in their family.