How Should I Pay My Zakat?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
- Both my husband and I work and earn money. I have had jewelry for over a year now. I’ve been employed for 1.5 years. I wanted to ask is it my obligation or my husband’s to pay the zakat on my jewelry?
- I was also curious if my spouse is required to pay zakat on his income or money in his bank account.
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
1.
If you are the owner of the jewelry then the duty to pay the Zakat for it is upon you, not your husband. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
Allah, Most High, says: “Pay alms-tax (zakat) ” [Quran, 2:43]
2.
Yes, Zakat has to be paid on his salaries received before the Zakat due date and on the money in his bank account. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
After reaching the Nisab one will have to add to any wealth during the following lunar year to what he had when he reached the Nisab and will have to pay the zakat for the full amount of this wealth. [Quduri, Mukhtasar al-Quduri]
From a Previous Answer at SeekersGuidance
Zakat is obligatory (fard) upon every legally responsible (i.e. a sane adult) Muslim who possesses the nisab (minimum zakatable amount) for one whole lunar year. The zakatable amount is counted from monetary wealth and trade goods while excluding basic living needs (house, furniture, clothing, vehicles, etc.). Furthermore, debts are subtracted from this amount, such that if one has $1000 more than the nisab but is in debt for $1500, they do not have to pay zakat.
After reaching the Nisab for the first time one has to wait for one whole lunar year to pay the Zakat on all the zakatable wealth he owns at that time (ie after one lunar year has passed), not only on the zakatable wealth he owned when he reached the Nisab for the first time.
For example, if your husband reached the Nissab owning 10,000$ he will have to pay the zakat after one whole lunar year. After one whole lunar year your husband ends up owning 100,000$ because of all the salaries he received during that time. Your husband will have to pay the zakat on all this wealth (ie 100,000$), not only the 10,000$ he owned a year ago.
You can also calculate your zakat using our Zakat Calculator, and if you wish you can send your zakat and charity to our Islamic Scholars Fund
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
