Zakat
What is Zakat?
"And perform the prayer, and pay the alms; whatever good you shall forward to your souls' account, you shall find it with Cod; assuredly God sees the things you do."(2:1 1 0)
Zakat is an Islamic tax paid by qualifying Muslims to deserving recipients, and a means to purify one's wealth. It is not charity. Rather, it is a portion of one's property that needy Muslim members of society already own by virtue of it having been in one's possession for one lunar year.Zakat therefore, is distributed, not donated. Unlike charity (sadaqah), which is recommended to give, zakat is obligatory, whose non-payment or late payment is an enormity.
Obligation Of Zakat
Who is obliged to pay zakat?
Zakat is obligatorily due on every sane, adult Muslim male and female. Zakat is due on those possessing the minimum nisab and are free of debt obligations; financial obligations (where the net worth of the individual is below the nisab amount because he owes more than he is worth) exempt one from paying zakat only if the individual exhausts all reasonable means to repay these debts using other forms of surplus wealth (i.e. wealth that exceeds what is normal considered a requirement for living).
Exceptions To Zakat On Estate Of Deceased
When is zakat not paid on the deceased's estate?
Unpaid zakat is not taken from the estate of the deceased unless a bequest specifies that zakat should be paid posthumously, in which case zakat is paid on one-third of the estate, regardless of whether this amount covers the zakat obligation or not; it is permissible, though not obligatory, for the inheritors of the remaining two-thirds of the estate to fulfill the balance of the zakat obligation from their own portion.
Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance
1401, Boulevard Plaza, Tower 1
Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai
P O Box 127150, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Obligation Of Zakat
Who is obliged to pay zakat?
Zakat is obligatorily due on every sane, adult Muslim male and female. Zakat is due on those possessing the minimum nisab and are free of debt obligations; financial obligations (where the net worth of the individual is below the nisab amount because he owes more than he is worth) exempt one from paying zakat only if the individual exhausts all reasonable means to repay these debts using other forms of surplus wealth (i.e. wealth that exceeds what is normal considered a requirement for living).
Exceptions To Zakat On Estate Of Deceased
When is zakat not paid on the deceased's estate?
Unpaid zakat is not taken from the estate of the deceased unless a bequest specifies that zakat should be paid posthumously, in which case zakat is paid on one-third of the estate, regardless of whether this amount covers the zakat obligation or not; it is permissible, though not obligatory, for the inheritors of the remaining two-thirds of the estate to fulfill the balance of the zakat obligation from their own portion.
Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance
1401, Boulevard Plaza, Tower 1
Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai
P O Box 127150, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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