Calculating Missed Zakat

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

I have many years of zakat to calculate, but my bank only has the last six years of information. The option of submitting a Subject Access Request is a lengthy process of asking for all the information they have.

Is there another way of calculating years of past zakat for which you don’t have the information anymore?

Answer

The first thing to do is to ensure you document and pay all your zakat payments within 12 lunar months of your zakat obligation. This will prevent any future complications. You can even pay in advance if it is convenient. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

As for your past due payments, you can pay based on your knowledge of the last six years. For the remaining years, you would need to contact the back. The process may be long, but it is the means of determining what is due to you. You don’t want to turn up on the Day of Judgement with outstanding payments owed to the poor.

If you cannot get that information, then the way forward is a reasonable estimation based on what you can recall. Pay this way, ask Allah for His forgiveness and the ability not to fall short again, and then continue with your din. You could also intend unpaid zakat, in this situation, whenever you give some voluntary charity to the poor.

May Allah facilitate the way to His pleasure for you.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.