Is zakah due on the portion of the bridal gift that was waived before it was received due to the husband’s divorce?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : The wife’s release.
Answer : Regarding the bridal gift, as for the portion of the bridal gift that was waived before it was received due to the husband’s divorce, there is no zakah on it because she did not receive it, so it was not waived by her disposition of it. This is unlike the case of the one who received it, meaning, as if the first-born is more entitled. He said: Is it not the case that if a woman’s bridal gift is halved before consummation, there is no zakah on her for the half that returned to the wife? He answered that there is a difference between this and the release, because the waiver of the debt from the debtor by release is waived by the act of the one who releases, whereas the waiver of half the bridal gift was not waived by the act of the woman, but rather by the act of the husband, because if the husband divorces before consummation, the woman is only entitled to half the divorce, rather, only half the bridal gift, the woman is only entitled to half the bridal gift.
Now, if the whole of it is waived, such as if the man gives it before consummation, the marriage is annulled according to the well-known view in the school of thought, and at that time the bridal gift is waived because the separation here is from whom? From the wife? The husband is the one who gave it, and there is another opinion that will be mentioned, if Allah wills. And based on that, is zakah obligatory on her or not? We say it is not obligatory because she did not possess it with full ownership, except if it remains for a complete lunar year, in which case it becomes obligatory for her to pay zakah on it in that lunar year.
Answer : Regarding the bridal gift, as for the portion of the bridal gift that was waived before it was received due to the husband’s divorce, there is no zakah on it because she did not receive it, so it was not waived by her disposition of it. This is unlike the case of the one who received it, meaning, as if the first-born is more entitled. He said: Is it not the case that if a woman’s bridal gift is halved before consummation, there is no zakah on her for the half that returned to the wife? He answered that there is a difference between this and the release, because the waiver of the debt from the debtor by release is waived by the act of the one who releases, whereas the waiver of half the bridal gift was not waived by the act of the woman, but rather by the act of the husband, because if the husband divorces before consummation, the woman is only entitled to half the divorce, rather, only half the bridal gift, the woman is only entitled to half the bridal gift.
Now, if the whole of it is waived, such as if the man gives it before consummation, the marriage is annulled according to the well-known view in the school of thought, and at that time the bridal gift is waived because the separation here is from whom? From the wife? The husband is the one who gave it, and there is another opinion that will be mentioned, if Allah wills. And based on that, is zakah obligatory on her or not? We say it is not obligatory because she did not possess it with full ownership, except if it remains for a complete lunar year, in which case it becomes obligatory for her to pay zakah on it in that lunar year.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2428 - ما سقط من الصداق قبل قبضه بطلاق الزوج هل عليه زكاة؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
