Do Students Have to Pay Zakat on Money Given to Them by Their Parents?

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question

I am an international student. I am provided tuition and maintenance fees by my parents, and I don’t earn. Do I have to pay Zakat on the money sent to me for maintenance? Please guide.

Answer

Thank you for your question.

Zakat is compulsory upon every free person, male or female, young or old. In addition, he or she owns the minimum amount of wealth upon which zakat is payable (nisab) for an entire lunar year.  [Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin]

Accordingly, whether you earning your own wealth or receiving support from a donor, if you own the zakat-payable minimum (nisab), for the duration of one lunar year, you will have to pay zakah of 2.5%.

The zakat-payable minimum may be determined by following the gold or silver standards. The nisab of silver is 592.9 grams; the nisab of gold is 84.7 grams. The values of these totals converted to your currency would establish the nisab or zakat-payable minimum.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan received ijaza ‘amma from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib ‘Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.