[Q 375] Ruling on Advance Payment of Zakah

Question

Can you give Zakah in advance, please? For example, Zakah is due in Ramadan, and you want to give it earlier because you are in a poor village currently. If this is permissible, what would be the procedure, please?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

The obligation to pay Zakah becomes due after the completion of one lunar year. Zakah is calculated based upon the value of total assets (that Zakah is given upon) on that day. And Zakah is paid as 2.5% of the total.
If you are a Sahib un-Nisab (possessor of the minimum threshold of wealth upon which Zakah becomes obligatory), you can pay Zakah in advance before the completion of the year. However, a final calculation of Zakah must still be made at the end of the year.
So, if the advance Zakah paid is less than the calculated amount, the remaining balance must be paid immediately. If it is in excess, then this can be counted toward the next year’s Zakah.
The method of payment is to give the Zakah amount to a Shar’i Faqeer with the intention of paying Zakah.

In Durr ul-Mukhtar, it is stated:

وَ لَوْ عَجَّلَ ذُوْ نِصَابٍ زَكَاتَهُ لِسِنِيْنَ أَوْ لِنُصْبٍ صَحَّ لِوُجُوْدِ السَّبَبِ.

In its commentary Radd-ul-Muhtar, it is explained:

قوله (و لو عجل ذو نصاب) قيد بكونه ذا نصاب وفيه شرطان آخران: أن لا ينقطع النصاب في أثناء الحول، وأن يكون النصاب كاملا في آخر الحول

(Durr-ul-Mukhtar with Radd-ul-Muhtar, Vol. 2, Page 293)

In Fatawa al-Alamgiri, it is stated:

ويجوز تعجيل الزكاة بعد ملك النصاب، ولا يجوز قبله كذا في الخلاصة. وإنما يجوز التعجيل بثلاثة شروط أحدها أن يكون الحول منعقدا عليه وقت التعجيل. والثاني أن يكون النصاب الذي أدى عنه كاملا في آخر الحول. والثالث أن لا يفوت أصله فيما بين ذلك

(Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, Vol. 1, Page 176)

Imam Ahmed Rida Khan (رحمه الله) states:
“After the completion of one year, delaying the payment of Zakah is not permissible, and the person is sinful for as long as he delays it. However, one has the option to pay Zakah in advanced instalments. At the end of the year, he will calculate (what he actually owes), if he has paid in full then good, and if more is owed, it should be paid immediately, and if more was paid earlier, the excess can be counted toward the next year’s Zakah.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 10, Page 202)

Mufti Muhammad Amjad Ali Azami (رحمه الله) states:
“A Sahib un-Nisab can pay Zakah before the completion of the year, provided that he still meets the threshold of Zakah at the end of the year. If the nisab is lost completely during the year or he does not meet the Zakah threshold at the end of the year, then the Zakah paid will be considered nafl (Sadaqah).”

(Bahar-e-Shariat, Vol. 1, Page 891)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 6th December 2024