The Ruling on Paying the Zakah of a Commercial Establishment in Ramadan and Delaying It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah honor you and reward you with good. There is a commercial establishment whose zakah became due in the year 1453 AH. Is it permissible to pay it out in Ramadan, given that the zakah has been due for five months?
Answer:
Once the zakah becomes obligatory upon the completion of the lunar year, it is not permissible to delay it; rather, it must be paid out immediately, for Allah has commanded the giving of zakah. The command is for immediacy, so it is not permissible to delay it except for an excuse. This is either because one is unable to pay it out at the current time, as he is present but does not have an amount that covers the zakah, or he does not have an amount at all. In that case, it is permissible to delay it, and it becomes a debt in his liability. Likewise, if he delays it in anticipation of those who are in greater need among the people, then if the delay is for a legitimate religious excuse, there is no harm in that. However, delaying it without a legitimate religious excuse is not permissible. Yes.
The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah honor you and reward you with good. There is a commercial establishment whose zakah became due in the year 1453 AH. Is it permissible to pay it out in Ramadan, given that the zakah has been due for five months?
Answer:
Once the zakah becomes obligatory upon the completion of the lunar year, it is not permissible to delay it; rather, it must be paid out immediately, for Allah has commanded the giving of zakah. The command is for immediacy, so it is not permissible to delay it except for an excuse. This is either because one is unable to pay it out at the current time, as he is present but does not have an amount that covers the zakah, or he does not have an amount at all. In that case, it is permissible to delay it, and it becomes a debt in his liability. Likewise, if he delays it in anticipation of those who are in greater need among the people, then if the delay is for a legitimate religious excuse, there is no harm in that. However, delaying it without a legitimate religious excuse is not permissible. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/169 — archive.org (11:28)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.