Is there zakah on a deferred mahr?

Question : A woman asks: My deferred mahr is three thousand riyals. If I continue to pay zakah every year, it will not be finished until after a long time. What is the ruling?

Answer : If the husband is poor, then the wife owes nothing on the mahr that is in his debt. Likewise, any person who is in debt: if he is poor, there is no zakah on the debt that is in his liability, even if it remains for forty years. This is because the creditor is unable to collect it, for the poor person must be given time, and it is not permissible to demand it or press him for it, nor is it permissible to imprison him for it. Rather, if a person knows that his debtor is poor, he should turn away from him, not demand repayment from him, and not press him for it, and it is not permissible to imprison him for it.