A person has money and did not pay its zakah for two years out of forgetfulness; what is obligatory for him?
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Question:
This is a listener from Libya, the brother 'Abd al-Rahim Mansur. He says: I had one thousand dinars in my possession, and two years passed over them without me paying their zakah. That was not intentional, but due to my forgetfulness. I know the amount of its zakah is twenty-five dinars. Then I spent one thousand dinars from it, and another thousand remained. A third year has entered upon it. Do I pay zakah on all of it at once? Or do I pay zakah on the thousand that remained with me, upon which the third year has entered? And do I pay zakah for one year only, the current one, or also for the two past years? I want a detailed clarification on this question. May Allah keep you.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. As for money, zakah becomes obligatory in it when it reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it, by paying out one-quarter of a tenth, that is, twenty-five out of a thousand, for every year that has passed over it without its zakah being paid. One pays the zakah for the first year, then pays the zakah for the year following it after deducting the zakah of the first year from it, then pays the zakah for the third year after deducting the zakah paid for the two past years from it. This is necessary because the zakah remains a debt in his conscience until he pays it out, no matter how long the period lasts, so he must pay it for what has passed. If, as appears in the question, only one thousand remains with him in the end, he pays zakah on this thousand for the year that is passing over it while it is in his ownership. Yes.
This is a listener from Libya, the brother 'Abd al-Rahim Mansur. He says: I had one thousand dinars in my possession, and two years passed over them without me paying their zakah. That was not intentional, but due to my forgetfulness. I know the amount of its zakah is twenty-five dinars. Then I spent one thousand dinars from it, and another thousand remained. A third year has entered upon it. Do I pay zakah on all of it at once? Or do I pay zakah on the thousand that remained with me, upon which the third year has entered? And do I pay zakah for one year only, the current one, or also for the two past years? I want a detailed clarification on this question. May Allah keep you.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. As for money, zakah becomes obligatory in it when it reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it, by paying out one-quarter of a tenth, that is, twenty-five out of a thousand, for every year that has passed over it without its zakah being paid. One pays the zakah for the first year, then pays the zakah for the year following it after deducting the zakah of the first year from it, then pays the zakah for the third year after deducting the zakah paid for the two past years from it. This is necessary because the zakah remains a debt in his conscience until he pays it out, no matter how long the period lasts, so he must pay it for what has passed. If, as appears in the question, only one thousand remains with him in the end, he pays zakah on this thousand for the year that is passing over it while it is in his ownership. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5671- شخص عنده مال ولم يزكه سنتين نسيانا، فماذا يجب عليه؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.