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Session Details
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| Guest Name |
Dr. Monzer Kahf
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| Profession |
Scholar in Islamic Economics & Financial Expert
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| Subject |
Fatwas on Zakatul-Fitr
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| Date |
Sunday,Nov 9 ,2003
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Time |
Makkah
From...
17:30...To...
19:00
GMT
From... 14:30...To...16:00
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| Name |
Host
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| Question |
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, the session has already started. You can submit your questions. Please, make your questions short and clear so as to help us answer all your questions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.
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| Name |
Sayyed
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| Question |
- In my country, people disagree about salary in banks. Is it halal or haram? They disagree also about acquiring apartment at credit, if inflation is about 3 %. I contract a credit for buying an apartment in order to avoid giving al-kiraa. Is this halal or haram? The rate is about 6 %.
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
“Brother sayyed,
Wherever your country is, interest is always prohibited because the Qur’an clearly forbids Riba. Interest is Riba because it is an increment in a loan. Regardless of the objective of the loan, whether for acquiring apartment, for business or otherwise, interest-based loans are not permitted in the Shari’ah. They are haram. The presence of inflation does not change this prohibition because inflation is completely a different story than interest.
With regard to depositing salaries in conventional bank, if there are no Islamic banks the Shari’ah position is that it is permissible on the ground of need, convenience or removal of hardship. For those who do not need to deposit their salaries in banks, it is certainly better to avoid dealing with interest –based banks. If Islamic banks exist in your country, then Muslims must use their facilities for depositing salaries and other transaction.
If your question refers to working in conventional bank, the answer requires some details. Working in conventional banks in departments that do not require you to write or sign interest-based contracts on behalf of the bank, may be permissible because the hadith came in the prohibition taking interest, giving it, writing its contract, or being a witness to it.
There is no need to expand this prohibition to other areas in the bank especially that conventional bank also provide several permissible services such as currency exchange, transfers and maintaining non-interest based current account.
On the other hand, it is prohibited to work in the capacity of a loan officer or other jobs that require you to be the essential handler of interest-based contracts. You should remember we must not overlook the argument that working in any section in a conventional bank may also be directly or indirectly supportive of the Riba-based transaction. This means that working in a bank while permissible is not one of the purest areas for a Muslim to work in if it is compared, for instance, with working as a teacher of Qur’an.”
Allah Almighty knows best.
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New Muslim
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| Question |
I am a new Muslim and this is my first time paying the Zakah. I was wondering what are places I can give my Zakah to, preferably ones on the Internet.
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
zakatul mal which is on your wealth and income and zakatul Fitr which is on each person in your household may be paid to any of the categories that are mentioned in verse 9:60 in the Qur’an. You should notice, however, that some of the eight categories mentioned in the verse can only be implemented by the government or by a Muslim community/charitable organization specifically the two catrgories of workers in collection and distribution and reconciling hearts. Other category can be given directly by the Zakah payer.
However, the spirit of Zakah which can be derived from several verses and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates that Zakah should be collected and distributed by the Islamic government. This obviously also means that in the absence of the Islamic government, wherever there exist a trustworthy Muslim community/charitable organization, it is always better to make the distribution through it.
If you live in the United States or Canada, there are several good organizations that take charge of distributing Zakah, most of them are available on the internet, but you should check with your local community to select the most suitable organization.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Sara
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| Question |
If a child is desperately in need, will God accept his Duaa if his parent's income contains a bit of Haram (from selling beer/pork)? Keep in mind he/she relies on them for food, etc.
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
A minor child who is under the financial responsibility of a grown up parents or other guardians, is not responsible for whatever income of actions made by his parents/guardian.
However, a child after puberty is required to make best effort to avoid eating from any forbidden source even if it were by taking part time job that pays for her/his food.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Ibrahim
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| Question |
I would like to know about eid celbration and exchange of gifts, Is there any hadith on how to clebrate the Eid and exchange of presents?
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Giving presents to friends and relatives is always good at the occasion of Eid or otherwise. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended giving presents in a correct saying.
The occasion of ‘Eid is certainly a good time to bring happiness to other people, and gifts add to this happiness.
For the rest of the question, please ask in the General Fatwa Session.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Muhammad
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I have taken a loan from bank for construction of my house. I have personal loans from my relatives which I had taken from them when I lost my job and was jobless for 6 months.
My house is not fully constructed and still I have not cleared my bank loan and my relatives loan. Apart from this, I have no property, I wanted to ask you wether it is wajib for me to pay Zakah in this situation or not?
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
If what you said in the question describes fully your financial situation, you may fall in the category of poor who deserve to be a recipient of Zakah. You are under debt and your income is not sufficient to pay your personal and bank loans, and your own home is not yet fully built. You do not have any item that is subject to Zakah.
You may still have to pay Zakatul-fitr for yourself and the persons who are under your financial responsibility (wife and children and parents if they live with you) because you only need to have the food of the day and an amount of sufficient to pay Zakatul-fitr, which is the value of 2.2 kg of the main food item in the area where you live (grain, rice or dates) for each person.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Muna
- Austria
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| Profession |
Beautician
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| Question |
Is it true that not everyone must pay the Zakah i.e. only those who can afford it? Is there a specific amount and how is it calculated?
Thank you.
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Zakatul fitr that is the Zakah that should be paid by the end of Ramadan for the occasion of breaking the fast and celebrating the `Eid has milder requirement than Zakatul Mal.
Any household head who has an amount of food that is sufficient for the day of `Eid and has above it an amount to pay Zakatul-Fitr (which is the price of 2.2 kg of the main food item in the area for each person in the household), is required to pay Zakatul-Fitr for all members of his/her household members.
Zakatul Mal has a minimum of the value of 20 dinars of gold (# 1000 US dollars) in wealth items or in accumulation of saving is required to pay Zakatul Mal upon the end of a lunar year that begins from the day that minimum amount is acquired. Zakatul Mal is, generally speaking, at the rate of 2.5 % and it is repeated every year.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
sairabanu
- Tanzania
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| Profession |
housewife
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| Question |
A woman who has missed her fasts during Ramadan due to her menses is allowed to pay the missed ones later on. What about the Salah (namaz)? Does she has to pay the missed ones every month? Thank you.
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Fasting missed by a woman due to her menstrual period must be compensated in kind. i.e. fasting a similar number of days outside Ramadan. A woman during her period is required to break the fasting in Ramadan.
A prayer missed during the period need not be made up. She is not required to pray outside the period for those prayers she missed. Obviously, she must not pray while in the period.
You can also read:
Menstruating Women: Should They Make Up for the Missed Fast-days?
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
shamas ud din
- Saudi Arabia
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| Profession |
chemical engineer
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| Question |
I have purchased some saving certificate in Pakistan for ten years. When I will get money they will deduct Zakah from them.
Do you I have to pay the Zakah? Is it lawful in Islam to buy such type of certificates. They will give extra money on my own after ten years.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
If this certificate you bought is interest-based, it is certainly prohibited to buy it and whatever interest you gained out of it must be given to Muslim charity. You must not allow this interest to mingle with your own halal money.
The principal of this certificate to subject to Zakah as part of your other Zakatable items at the end of a lunar year that begins on the day you acquired nisab (# US $ 1000) for the first time, and Zakah is also obligated at the end of every lunar year, then after.
If this saving certificate is issued by an Islamic bank or according to the Islamic financial rules whereby the proceeds of certificate are invested in the Shari`ah compatible project/contract and the principal of the certificate is not guaranteed and you gain a share of realized profit from investment, not a fixed or later determined interest; the dividends of this certificate are permissible you own them and you enjoy then. At the same time, both principal and profit are subject to Zakah and should be included within your Zakatable items as you mentioned above.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Mirna
- United Arab Emirates
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| Profession |
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| Question |
What is the optimal time to pay Zakatul-Fitr?
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| Answer |
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Classically, it has been argued in our fiqh that the best time to pay Zakatul-Fitr is the last few days of Ramadan, make it as close as possible to the `Eid, but certainly before the `Eid prayer in the morning of the day of the `Eid.
When Zakah is distributed through the government or Muslim charitable organization, it becomes better to pay it earlier as it takes time to reach the poor and needy. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us the guidance that one of the main objective of Zakatul-Fitr is to bring happiness to the poor at the day of the `Eid.
Therefore, if we want our Zakah to reach the poor to make happy on the `Eid, we must give it much earlier in Ramadan to the charitable organization in order to allow it sufficient time to reach the poor for the Eid. The exact days depends on the organization we give our Zakatul-Fitr through.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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| Name |
Bachu
- United Kingdom
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| Question |
As-Salamu'Alaykum, thank you for giving us an opportunity to ask you questions related to the deen. There are three in my household which includes me my mother and my sister. Out of all of us I am the youngest and receive the most state income because of my disability. I know as the only son, I should be the head of the household, but my mother assumes she is the head. So, do I give Zakatul-fitr for the household or for my mother, who is in debt at the moment? Jazak Allahu khairan.
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Wa`alykum As-Salamu warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Depending on the kind of disability you have, if your disability incapacitates you with regard to financial and legal transaction, then you are not certainly the head of the household, and your mother is your financial and legal government.
If your disability does not disqualify you for financial and legal transaction as it appears from your question, you may be ahead of household from the point of view of financial responsibility for your mother and sister. In that case, you are required to pay Zakatul Fitr for the three of you.
What amazes me in your question is that it seems you are well-to-do while your mother is under debt, and you live in the same household together! Why don’t you pay the debts of your mother? After all, you and your money belong to your mother and her pleasure with you is very essential for you as a Muslim child of his mother.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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Editor
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, we are so sorry for not answering all your questions because the time is over. We apologize for any inconvenience. Do keep in touch. Join us in coming sessions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.
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| All Fatwas published on this website (Islamonline.net) represent the juristic views and opinions of eminent scholars and Muftis. They do not necessarily form a juristic approach upheld by this website. Click here to read Full Disclaimer. |
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