Zakah on the property of a missing person
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 18778 )
Q: After the death of our father – may Allah forgive him, amen – the ownership of agricultural and residential lands was expropriated for the benefit of the state, and we received compensation for them, which was divided among the male and female heirs of the deceased. However, one of his sons has been missing for a period of more than twenty years, meaning since before our father’s death. We have the share due to the missing person, and we know absolutely nothing about him; is he alive and living, or has he passed away? This amount that
he is entitled to is in my possession, and we ask those we find among the knowledgeable: Is this money subject to zakah? Some of them answer that zakah is obligatory on it, while others say that zakah is not obligatory on it. We know that this amount was received a long time after his disappearance, and nothing is known about him. I am now confused about this matter; therefore, I turned to Allah, the Exalted, and then to your eminence to seek a ruling on this matter. Is zakah obligatory on this amount? Because I fear that this amount will be exhausted by zakah while its owner has not come to claim it.
A: If the situation is as described, then this person should be brought before the Sharia court to take the procedures regarding a missing person. As for the money set aside for him from his father’s estate, there is no zakah on it until his owner knows of it. Zakah becomes obligatory on it from the time he learns of it and is able to take possession of it, and the start of the lunar year (hawl) is from the time he learns of it and is able to take possession of it. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: After the death of our father – may Allah forgive him, amen – the ownership of agricultural and residential lands was expropriated for the benefit of the state, and we received compensation for them, which was divided among the male and female heirs of the deceased. However, one of his sons has been missing for a period of more than twenty years, meaning since before our father’s death. We have the share due to the missing person, and we know absolutely nothing about him; is he alive and living, or has he passed away? This amount that
he is entitled to is in my possession, and we ask those we find among the knowledgeable: Is this money subject to zakah? Some of them answer that zakah is obligatory on it, while others say that zakah is not obligatory on it. We know that this amount was received a long time after his disappearance, and nothing is known about him. I am now confused about this matter; therefore, I turned to Allah, the Exalted, and then to your eminence to seek a ruling on this matter. Is zakah obligatory on this amount? Because I fear that this amount will be exhausted by zakah while its owner has not come to claim it.
A: If the situation is as described, then this person should be brought before the Sharia court to take the procedures regarding a missing person. As for the money set aside for him from his father’s estate, there is no zakah on it until his owner knows of it. Zakah becomes obligatory on it from the time he learns of it and is able to take possession of it, and the start of the lunar year (hawl) is from the time he learns of it and is able to take possession of it. 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.