Is It Permissible to Give Zakat in Advance?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it permissible to give Zakat in advance?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is permissible to give your Zakat in advance. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

However, if when the lunar year (hawl) of your Zakat finishes and it turns out that you gave less than 2.5%, you are obliged to give the balance. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] 

If it turns out that you gave more than 2.5% the surplus is counted as charity (sadaqa). [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] 

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.