Can I Set My Own Zakat Due Date?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Earlier I didn’t knew that Zakat is due on a particular date. And I used to pay zakat normally in Ramadan month. Now I want to decide on a concrete Zakat due date for me. But since I don’t have any prior calculation of when i became eligible for paying Zakat, can I pick any day of current Ramadan month and make it my Zakat due date ?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.

It would be permitted to “set” a day in Ramadan as the day you will pay your zakat. However, you should remember that it actually entered your dues before this point. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; `Ala al-Din `Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-`Ala’iyya]

Ideally, you should make an educated, reasonable estimate of when you think zakat became due upon you for the first time — this would be your “real” due date. Thereafter, it would be permitted without dislike to pay in Ramadan on your “set” day as long as there isn’t an undue delay between your due date and the month of Ramadan.

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani