The Ruling on Holding Zakah Until the Need of the Poor Arrives
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner says: A man pays the zakah of his wealth, then holds onto it until the debts of his people come due. How is that? A man pays the zakah of his wealth, then holds onto it until debts arise among his people, so he gives it to them and tells them it is zakah. Or he holds onto it until a severely poor person comes. The reason he holds the zakah is that he is known in his community for being wealthy, so they turn to him to meet their needs. The question is: Is there any sin on him for holding it? Another question: He lends from this zakah. Is there any sin on him, knowing that he has died? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is an action that is not permissible. It is obligatory to pay it by giving out the zakah. He should not leave it until it covers the needs. No, it is obligatory to pay it by giving it out at its proper time. It is not permissible to leave it until someone comes who his people need, or a creditor, or a poor person whose poverty is severe. No, it is obligatory to pay it by giving it out to the poor who are present. If there are no poor people in his country, he moves to another country and distributes it there. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
This questioner says: A man pays the zakah of his wealth, then holds onto it until the debts of his people come due. How is that? A man pays the zakah of his wealth, then holds onto it until debts arise among his people, so he gives it to them and tells them it is zakah. Or he holds onto it until a severely poor person comes. The reason he holds the zakah is that he is known in his community for being wealthy, so they turn to him to meet their needs. The question is: Is there any sin on him for holding it? Another question: He lends from this zakah. Is there any sin on him, knowing that he has died? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is an action that is not permissible. It is obligatory to pay it by giving out the zakah. He should not leave it until it covers the needs. No, it is obligatory to pay it by giving it out at its proper time. It is not permissible to leave it until someone comes who his people need, or a creditor, or a poor person whose poverty is severe. No, it is obligatory to pay it by giving it out to the poor who are present. If there are no poor people in his country, he moves to another country and distributes it there. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
فتاوى الحج ١٤١٠ هـ - ١٤ — archive.org (52:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.