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
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Zakat is not income tax. 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.
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,
Manju
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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,
Manju
syedahmed.shah
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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 Rs50/= per head. 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)
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.
