Fatwa No. (20994) Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet, and thereafter:
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Fatwa No. ( 20994 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
What was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency: the Director of the Dawah and Guidance Center in the jurisdiction of Jeddah , in his letter No. (430 / 9 / 20 J) dated 1 / 6 / 1420 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with No. (3059) dated 4 / 6 / 1420 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: Some of our brother da'is working in the offices for the awareness of expatriate communities in the jurisdiction of Jeddah came to us and mentioned that among the fatwas that have caused long discussions and conflicting opinions, and sharp disagreement among some da'is, and which is widespread among some da'is from the Indian subcontinent, is the claim that zakat on the two currencies is paid only once in a lifetime, while paying it every year is a view with no evidence for it; because the Shari'ah texts commanded its payment and warned against negligence regarding it, but they did not command repeating its payment every lunar year. Given that the issue concerns a group of people, and these people need a written fatwa from Your Eminence to which they can return, and by which the disagreement will end, if Allah wills, we hope Your Eminence will graciously review the matter and issue the fatwa you see as consistent with the evidence.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered that zakat is obligatory in gold and silver when they reach the nisab, every time a lunar year passes over them; based on the saying of Allah
the Exalted:[At-Tawbah 9:34] , and in Sahih Muslim , that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 987c , and the scholars agreed that the treasure mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah means: anything in which zakat is obligatory but has not been paid. And from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: narrated by Abu Dawud . As for the claim that its payment is once in a lifetime, there is no basis for that in the pure Shari'ah; rather, the evidence is clear in the repetition of zakat every time a lunar year passes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send his collectors for charity every year,
and his successors after him acted in accordance with that. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, explaining the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in zakat and the wisdom of making it once every year, the text of which is: "His guidance in zakat is the most perfect guidance; in its timing, its amount, its nisab, who it is obligatory upon, and its distribution. He considered in it the interest of the owners of wealth and the interest of the poor. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made it a purification for the wealth and its owner, and He bound the blessing upon the rich with it. So the blessing of wealth remains with the one who pays his zakat; indeed, He preserves it for him and increases it for him, and He repels afflictions from him with it, and makes it a wall for him, a fortress for him, and a guardian for him. Then He made it obligatory in four categories of wealth: they are the most circulating among people and their need for them is essential: First: crops and fruits. Second: livestock: camels, cattle, and sheep. Third: the two precious metals by which the world is sustained, namely gold and silver. Fourth: trade wealth in its various types. Then He made it obligatory once every year, and set the lunar year for crops and fruits at their perfection and ripening. This is the most just, for its obligation every month or every week would harm the owners of wealth, and its obligation once in a lifetime would harm the poor. So there is nothing more just than its obligation once every year."
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
What was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency: the Director of the Dawah and Guidance Center in the jurisdiction of Jeddah , in his letter No. (430 / 9 / 20 J) dated 1 / 6 / 1420 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with No. (3059) dated 4 / 6 / 1420 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: Some of our brother da'is working in the offices for the awareness of expatriate communities in the jurisdiction of Jeddah came to us and mentioned that among the fatwas that have caused long discussions and conflicting opinions, and sharp disagreement among some da'is, and which is widespread among some da'is from the Indian subcontinent, is the claim that zakat on the two currencies is paid only once in a lifetime, while paying it every year is a view with no evidence for it; because the Shari'ah texts commanded its payment and warned against negligence regarding it, but they did not command repeating its payment every lunar year. Given that the issue concerns a group of people, and these people need a written fatwa from Your Eminence to which they can return, and by which the disagreement will end, if Allah wills, we hope Your Eminence will graciously review the matter and issue the fatwa you see as consistent with the evidence.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered that zakat is obligatory in gold and silver when they reach the nisab, every time a lunar year passes over them; based on the saying of Allah
the Exalted:
And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment.
وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍNo owner of the treasure who does not pay Zakat (would be spared) but (his hoards) would be heated in the Fire of Hell and these would be made into plates and with these his sides, his forehead would be cauterised till Allah would pronounce judgment among His servants during a day, the extent of which would be fifty thousand years. He would then see his path, leading either to Paradise or to Hell.
ما من صاحب كنز لا يؤدي زكاته إلا أحمي في نار جهنم؛ فيجعل صفائح فيكوى بها جنباه وجبهته حتى يحكم الله بين عباده في يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة، ثم يرى سبيله إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النارIf you have two hundred dirhams and a lunar year has passed over them, then in them are five dirhams, and nothing is upon you—meaning in gold—until you have twenty dinars. If you have twenty dinars and a lunar year has passed over them, then in them is half a dinar
إذا كانت لك مائتا درهم وحال عليها الحول ففيها خمسة دراهم، وليس عليك شيء – يعني في الذهب – حتى يكون لك عشرون دينارًا، فإذا كان لك عشرون دينارًا وحال عليها الحول ففيها نصف دينارand his successors after him acted in accordance with that. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, explaining the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in zakat and the wisdom of making it once every year, the text of which is: "His guidance in zakat is the most perfect guidance; in its timing, its amount, its nisab, who it is obligatory upon, and its distribution. He considered in it the interest of the owners of wealth and the interest of the poor. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made it a purification for the wealth and its owner, and He bound the blessing upon the rich with it. So the blessing of wealth remains with the one who pays his zakat; indeed, He preserves it for him and increases it for him, and He repels afflictions from him with it, and makes it a wall for him, a fortress for him, and a guardian for him. Then He made it obligatory in four categories of wealth: they are the most circulating among people and their need for them is essential: First: crops and fruits. Second: livestock: camels, cattle, and sheep. Third: the two precious metals by which the world is sustained, namely gold and silver. Fourth: trade wealth in its various types. Then He made it obligatory once every year, and set the lunar year for crops and fruits at their perfection and ripening. This is the most just, for its obligation every month or every week would harm the owners of wealth, and its obligation once in a lifetime would harm the poor. So there is nothing more just than its obligation once every year."
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.