The Ruling on Delaying Zakat al-Fitr
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: I neglected the alms given at the end of Ramadan for two years because I was studying abroad. Do I pay this zakah at the beginning of the month? What is the ruling regarding my situation?
Answer:
It remains a debt in your obligation. You must pay it as a make-up, and it remains a debt in your obligation. It is obligatory for you to pay it to the poor Muslims present in the country where you are, because Western countries generally do not lack Muslim communities. So you pay it to them, or you appoint someone in your country to pay it to the poor. Both options are permissible. It is not permissible for you to delay and let it remain a debt in your obligation, because it is a debt that is not discharged except by paying it. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: I neglected the alms given at the end of Ramadan for two years because I was studying abroad. Do I pay this zakah at the beginning of the month? What is the ruling regarding my situation?
Answer:
It remains a debt in your obligation. You must pay it as a make-up, and it remains a debt in your obligation. It is obligatory for you to pay it to the poor Muslims present in the country where you are, because Western countries generally do not lack Muslim communities. So you pay it to them, or you appoint someone in your country to pay it to the poor. Both options are permissible. It is not permissible for you to delay and let it remain a debt in your obligation, because it is a debt that is not discharged except by paying it. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/079 — archive.org (5:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.