The ruling on paying zakah on wealth in something other than currency
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, is it permissible to pay the zakah on wealth in something other than currency to the poor?
The Shaykh:
Other than the voluntary portion.
The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
The zakah on wealth is from the wealth itself. From sheep, sheep are paid; from camels, camels are paid; and from cattle, cattle are paid. It is permissible to pay the value in place of livestock, provided it is the fair value, not cheap and not expensive, but moderate. It is permissible to pay the value in place of livestock. The zakah on silver dirhams is paid in silver dirhams, the zakah on dates is paid in dates, and the zakah on wheat is paid in wheat. It is permissible to pay the value in place of the zakah on wheat and the zakah on dates. However, the reverse, which is paying goods in place of silver dirhams, meaning purchasing items, some scholars have permitted this if it is more beneficial for the poor person. If this is more beneficial for the poor person, there is no harm in paying goods, meaning merchandise that you purchase with the zakah and give to them, if this is more beneficial for the poor person.
Honorable Shaykh, is it permissible to pay the zakah on wealth in something other than currency to the poor?
The Shaykh:
Other than the voluntary portion.
The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
The zakah on wealth is from the wealth itself. From sheep, sheep are paid; from camels, camels are paid; and from cattle, cattle are paid. It is permissible to pay the value in place of livestock, provided it is the fair value, not cheap and not expensive, but moderate. It is permissible to pay the value in place of livestock. The zakah on silver dirhams is paid in silver dirhams, the zakah on dates is paid in dates, and the zakah on wheat is paid in wheat. It is permissible to pay the value in place of the zakah on wheat and the zakah on dates. However, the reverse, which is paying goods in place of silver dirhams, meaning purchasing items, some scholars have permitted this if it is more beneficial for the poor person. If this is more beneficial for the poor person, there is no harm in paying goods, meaning merchandise that you purchase with the zakah and give to them, if this is more beneficial for the poor person.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الرجعة، وباب الإيلاء والظهار والكفارة — islamhouse.com (1:17:40)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.