How to pay zakat, Sadaqa Al-Fitr, Fidya and Kafarah
Zakat
The concept of Zakat is to assist the poor and those who are suffering
in order to help them end their suffering and get back on their feet.
Recipients of Zakat must be sufficiently poor to receive it. They
don’t have personal assets that either meet or exceed the nisab, they are
eligible to receive Zakat.
To
put it in simple terms, people who are poor and suffering are eligible to
receive Zakat money. They can be any of the following:
- The
Poor & The Needy – these people may have some wealth and
funds but it is not enough to make up for the nisaab.
- The
Destitute –
People who have no wealth or funds. They are living their life on the very
basics necessities of life.
- Zakat
Collectors –
People who collect Zakat as well as distribute it.
- People
in Debt –
People who are in debt but cannot pay it back are eligible for Zakat.
FIRST PRIORITY
|
POOR RELATIVES
|
SECOND PRIORITY
|
POOR NEIGHBOURS
|
THIRD PRIORITY
|
POOR PEOPLE IN YOUR LOCALITY. It is
easy to donate to zakat fund of your local area masjid.
|
If each locality takes care of itself,
its sufficient for development of the society.
Zakat is 2.5% of
one year’s total cumulative wealth. This amount is then distributed to the poor. It can be easily understood from the following table.
Any Muslim who possesses the required nisaab (the minimum amount of wealth that one must have before zakat
is payable) for one whole year is bound to pay Zakat on that wealth.
The simple concept of zakat is that It
is customarily 2.5% (or 1/40th) of a Muslim's total savings and wealth above a minimum amount
known as nisab is payable as
zakat. No Zakāt is due on wealth until one year passes. .
Nisab is the exemption limit for the payment of Zakat. If a Muslim’s net yearly
savings falls below this amount, he or she is exempt from paying Zakat. Only
those people whose net capital exceeds the nisab values are obliged to give
zakat. The nisab amount is calculated based on the current value of 3 ounces of
pure Gold.If you have more than 7 and half tolas of Gold or 52 and half tolas of Silver, zakat is payable.
Items
That Fall Under the Scope of Zakat
Keep in mind that in addition to cash
at home or bank account, Zakat is also owed on gold, silver, investments, rent
income, business merchandise and profits, shares, and bonds,
Loans given or funds received. Any of these must be taken into account when determining the Zakat
amount. Cattle and crops
that are in excess of one’s need.
Enter all assets
that have been in your possession over a lunar year:
Sr No
|
Item
|
Amount (Rs.)
|
1
|
Gold
|
|
2
|
Silver
|
|
3
|
In
hand and in bank accounts
|
|
4
|
Deposited
for some future purpose, e.g. Hajj
|
|
5
|
Given
out in loans
|
|
6
|
Business
investments, shares, saving certificates, pensions funded by money in ones possession
|
|
7
|
Value
of Stock of trade
|
|
8
|
DEDUCT ALL LIABILITIES(Borrowed money, goods bought on credit,
Wages due to employees, Taxes, rent, utility bills due immediately)
|
(-)
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
Zakat
payable= 2.5% of total asset
|
|
*************************************************
Manju ka,
Regarding zakat, what I know are
1. Eligibility for zakat: If you have more than 7 and half
tolas of Gold or 52 and half tolas of Silver.
2.Items on which zakat is to be given: Please
go through the zakat calculator (Attached),you will understand yourself..It is
more like wealth tax. It is on the amount lying with you for one year.A man may
earn Rs. 1 lakh a month but spends the entire amount of his salary, is not
liable to play Zakat, even if he had earned Rs. 12 Lakhs a year.
3.Financial year: Take any date in the month
of ramadan Ramadan is gud for remembering the date.
4.What about the fluctuating value of gold
and the amount of zakat to be paid : Always take a higher value.Its always
better to pay more than pay less zakat.
Please share your knowledge.
regards
saleem
**************************************************************************saleem,
Zakat is not income tax. It is more like wealth tax. It is on
the amount lying with you for one year.
The calculation of the financial year is
extremely important. It should
be calculated from the day you have become
Sahibe Nisaab. Note down the
Lunar date (Arabic calender) and also the
amount you have with you. Say
you have Rs. 2 lakh (the day you have crossed
the value of 7 and half
tolas of Gold or 52 and half tolas of
Silver). Then, exactly on the
same date next year calculate how much money
you have. Say, it is Rs. 5
Lakh. Then your Zakat will be due on Rs. 2
Lakh. (The rest of the
amount, that is Rs.
three lakh, have not completed one year.) Again
next year, on the same date suppose you have
Rs. 10 lakhs with you.
Then Zakat will be payable on Rs. 5 Lakh
which completed a year.
Although it appears to be simple I was
initially confused about one
thing. That is, what about the amount that
completes a year in the
middle of YOUR FINANCIAL YEAR. I thought that
Zakat will be payable on
that too. No one could give me satisfactory
answer to that. But reading
books I could make out that the
identification of the FINANCIAL YEAR is
important. Accordingly I have decided on the
formula above. Of course
there are many other fine points (masails) to
be taken note of. But
broadly that is what I understand.
Since I could not remember when I became a
Sahib e Nisaab, I have
taken the 15th Ramzan as the date to
calculate my Financial Year. This
may not be entirely correct, but at least it
gives me a convenient
reference point. I am no scholar on the
subject. I am only stating what
I understand. There may be points of
disagreement.
Assalaamualaikum,
*****************************************************************
Saleem,
I have added one very important correction.
Please rectify the mistake
I have made. It is regarding the zakatable
amount.
The completion of one year is necessary only
regards to your being
considered a Sahib e nisaab or not. Otherwise
you are liable to pay
Zakat on the amount lying with you on the
completion of the relevant
financial year.
That means if you get Rs. 10,00,000/- only a
month before the due date
of calculation, it is also zakatable. I have
corrected my position
after doing some reading and confirmed it
from my spiritual teacher.
I sincerely apologise for the confusion.
Khuda hafiz,
Assalaamualaikum,
********************************************
Its time to think about Zakat , May people
does not know even his Zakat
is due.
The tool Zakat Calulator will help them who
knows computer.
Common muslim does not know how to calculate
Zakat.
Even people say '....as I do not have 9.5
tola GOLD , I am not liable.
"ý and feel happy.
For salaried person , every month 2.5% of his
salary should be
accumulated separately ( and should not be
touched in any condition )
and give to people as mentioned in Quran .
This is very simple. and
straight .
I think ZDS ( Zakat deduction at source ) is
better.
If you pay your zakat dues
to the poor and needy that you know (and especially if they are from among your
poor relatives), then that is better than giving it to someone whom
you do not know. As your poor relatives have a bigger right on you than the
others.
Zakat can be paid out to any of
the following eight deservants as ordained by Allah in the Glorious Quran:
Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse
60: Zakat Collections are for the needy, and the indigent, and for
those who are employed to collect them, and for those whose hearts are to be
won over, and for the ransoming of slaves, and for helping the debtors, and the
way of Allah, and for the hospitality of the way-farers.
When to Pay Zakat:
While Zakat can be paid anytime during the
Islamic lunar year, many people prefer to pay it during ramazan.
Fitr
Fitr or Fitrana, is
compulsory charity paid by Muslims at the end of the fasting month. Every adult
Muslim who possesses food in excess of his/her needs (approx. 2kg) must pay
Fitr for him/herself and on behalf of dependants.
The accepted amount
for Zakat ul Fitr is Indian Rs50/= per person of the family on june,2017.. Though this is payable until the
morning before Eid Prayer, we urge donors to give theirs in advance. By doing
so, you’ll be allowing the families who rely on your Fitr to make their
preparations for Eid.
The Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) ordered
that a fasting person give out Zakaat al-Fitr at the end of Ramadhan – one saa’ of staple food on behalf of yourself
and each person you are responsible for. [1]
What is a Saa’?
A Prophetic saa’ ( صاع ) is not a weight
measurement. It was and still is a measurement of
volume, similar to the size of a large salad bowl. It is made up of
four mudds, and a mudd ( مد ) is a
smaller container, close to the size of a small salad bowl.
To be precise, a Prophetic mudd in modern volume measurements is
0.75L (or 750mL), which means that a saa’ is three litres.
The most common understanding is that one sa'a is
equivalent to 2.5 kilograms (5 pounds) of wheat. Each individual Muslim is to
give away this amount -- man or woman, adult or child, sick or healthy, old or
young. The senior member of the household is responsible for paying the amount
on behalf of the family.
So a family of four individuals (2 adults + 2 children of any age)
should purchase and give away 10 kilograms of wheat.
“The
Scholars have Specified the Saa’ as 2.172 Kilograms” [?]
In a translation of a fatwaa from the Permanent Committee of Scholars
in Saudi Arabia, headed by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have Mercy on him),
there seems to be a specification of 2.172 kilograms as one saa’.
It is preferable (and some scholars say mandatory) to give the zakat-ul-fitr as
food to the poor and needy of the society. But if one is not able to
personally give out the food as zakat-ul-fitr, it is permissible
to give the equivalent amount to an organization who collects the zakat-ul-fitr; and
they in turn will purchase the food on your behalf and give it to the poor and
needy.
When to Pay Sadaqa Al-Fitr
Sadaqa Al-Fitr is a charitable donation linked directly to the month of
Ramadan. One must make the donations in the days or hours just prior to the Eid Al-Fitr holiday
prayer. This prayer occurs early on the first morning of Shawwal, the month
following Ramadan.
Who Benefits From Sadaqa Al-Fitr
Sadaqa Al-Fitr is intended for members of the Muslim community who do not
have enough to feed themselves and their family members. It is traditionally
given directly to individuals in need. In some places, one may take the
donation directly to a known needy family. In other places, the local mosque
may collect all of the food donations for distribution to appropriate community
members. It is recommended that the food be donated within one's local
community. However, some Islamic charitable
organizations accept cash donations which they use to purchase
food for distribution in famine or disaster-affected regions.
Its payment in money
Al-Qaradawi
explains why the Prophet appointed Sa` as the measure and did not
prescribe it in money saying that in his opinion there are two reasons for
this: First, money was still rare among the Arabs particularly the Bedouins.
They did not have their own currency. So if the Prophet had prescribed it in
money, he would have caused hardship to them. Second, the purchasing power of
money changes from time to time. For instance, the purchasing power of a
certain currency sometimes becomes low and other times high, so paying Zakat
al-Fitr in money makes its value unstable. That is why the Prophet prescribed
it with a stable measure, that is an amount of food which fulfils the needs of
one family. For one Sa` provides a family with food for a whole day.
The Hanafis permitted the payment of Zakat al-Fitr in
money. This is the view of Al-Thawri, Al-Hasan al-Basri, and `Umar ibn `Abd
al-`Aziz. However, the other three schools did not permit this. Their argument
is that the Prophet did not do so and hence its payment in money contradicts
the Sunnah of the Prophet. But some contemporary scholars support the Hanafi
view since this is easier nowadays for the payer particularly in cities where
people use only money for dealings. Among them are Sheikh Shaltut, al-Ghazali,
and al-Qaradawi[28] who mentioned earlier the two reasons for which the Prophet
did not prescribe it in money. He also stated that the purpose of Zakat al-Fitr
is to fulfil the needs of the poor and this is achieved also by payment in
money and that in most cases and most countries the payment in money is more
useful to the poor.[29] He also mentioned that when the Prophet prescribed it
from food, it was easy for the payer and useful for the recipient during that
time. But nowadays to pay it in food is not useful for the poor because he
cannot make use, for instance, of wheat or dates unless he sells them with any
price, generally low, to buy his needs with the money.[30]
Al-Qaradawi excluded the times of famines where the payment of food is
more useful for the recipients and said that the criterion is the benefit of
the poor so if food proves to be more useful as in times of famines and
catastrophes, then its payment in kind is better. But if money is more useful,
then its payment in money is better.[31]
Nowadays, if we consider the condition in the Muslim world in general
and that of Muslims in the West in particular we will discover that the second
view is more convenient with the spirit of Islamic legislation and the present
condition of Muslims. As we will see later when Muslims living in the West
decide to transfer their Zakah funds or some of them to needy Muslims in Muslim
countries, then the payment in money is more convenient.
The required amount of zakat ul-fitr is one sa' of
wheat, barley, raisins, dry cottage cheese (aqit), rice, corn, or similar items
considered as basic foods (qut). Abu Hanifah made it permissible
to set aside, as a zakat ul-fitr, an equivalent value and also said
that if the payer pays in wheat, one-half of a sa' would be sufficient.
Sadaqah al-Fitr is one kilo 633 gram wheat or three kilo 266 gram
barley- Allah knows
Best! Darul
Ifta,Darul Uloom Deoband (Fatwa: 955/966/H=10/1436). This is Indian rupees fifty on June,2017 per person of the family.
Fidya – for Old person, poor health
Fidya is payable by those who are unable to
fast during the month of Ramadan for valid reasons (due to poor health etc.)
Such a person must pay to feed a poor person (2 meals a day) for
every day of fasting he/she misses. This is called Fidya.
Pay fidyah equal to one Sadaqah al-Fitr in
return of each fast. Sadaqah al-Fitr is one kilo 633 gram wheat or three kilo
266 gram barley which should be paid to poor and needy ones.Darul Ifta,Darul
Uloom Deoband (Fatwa: 955/966/H=10/1436)
Kafarah
Kafarah is payable by those who intentionally
don’t fast during Ramadan, without a valid reason. The compensation for each
fast broken is to feed a person (2 meals a day) for 60 days. This is called
Kafarah.
Alternatively such a person must fast for 60
consecutive days.
