The Ruling on the Zakah of Money and Transferring It to the Poor
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, I have accumulated money since my arrival in the Kingdom, totaling eleven thousand four hundred and twenty riyals over twenty-seven years. Does the end of this month of this year count as a lunar year (hawl) for me? And what is the amount from which I can pay my zakah?
The Shaykh:
What is he saying?
The questioner:
I have accumulated money since twenty-seven years ago, or rather, since last year. Since my arrival in the Kingdom, does the end of this month of this year count as a lunar year (hawl) for me?
The Shaykh:
Yes, it counts as a lunar year (hawl) for you. You pay zakah on the money if it reaches the nisab (minimum threshold) or more. You give out a quarter of a tenth, which is two and a half percent, two and a half from every hundred. Yes, twenty-five per thousand, a quarter of a tenth. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: Can I transfer it to my sister who is in my home country?
The Shaykh:
Transfer it to the one you want, your sister or your brother or anyone else. There is no problem with the transfer, but the zakah is not dropped from you. That is, the intention of the transfer is that he gives it to his sister.
The questioner:
Shidd al-Rahman.
The Shaykh:
Transfer the zakah? There is no problem, there is no problem. He transfers it to this relative and this needy person. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: If I was...
The Shaykh:
The one to whom it is transferred must be poor, deserving of the zakah. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: If I do not have land or a residence, and my intention is to buy land with it and build on it, does that exempt me from the zakah?
The Shaykh:
No. If the lunar year (hawl) passes over the money, zakah becomes obligatory on it, whether you want it for trade, for expenses, for building a residence, to get married with it, or otherwise. If the lunar year (hawl) passes over the money and it reaches the nisab (minimum threshold), zakah becomes obligatory on it without regard to your purpose for it.
Honorable Shaykh, I have accumulated money since my arrival in the Kingdom, totaling eleven thousand four hundred and twenty riyals over twenty-seven years. Does the end of this month of this year count as a lunar year (hawl) for me? And what is the amount from which I can pay my zakah?
The Shaykh:
What is he saying?
The questioner:
I have accumulated money since twenty-seven years ago, or rather, since last year. Since my arrival in the Kingdom, does the end of this month of this year count as a lunar year (hawl) for me?
The Shaykh:
Yes, it counts as a lunar year (hawl) for you. You pay zakah on the money if it reaches the nisab (minimum threshold) or more. You give out a quarter of a tenth, which is two and a half percent, two and a half from every hundred. Yes, twenty-five per thousand, a quarter of a tenth. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: Can I transfer it to my sister who is in my home country?
The Shaykh:
Transfer it to the one you want, your sister or your brother or anyone else. There is no problem with the transfer, but the zakah is not dropped from you. That is, the intention of the transfer is that he gives it to his sister.
The questioner:
Shidd al-Rahman.
The Shaykh:
Transfer the zakah? There is no problem, there is no problem. He transfers it to this relative and this needy person. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: If I was...
The Shaykh:
The one to whom it is transferred must be poor, deserving of the zakah. Yes.
The questioner:
He asks: If I do not have land or a residence, and my intention is to buy land with it and build on it, does that exempt me from the zakah?
The Shaykh:
No. If the lunar year (hawl) passes over the money, zakah becomes obligatory on it, whether you want it for trade, for expenses, for building a residence, to get married with it, or otherwise. If the lunar year (hawl) passes over the money and it reaches the nisab (minimum threshold), zakah becomes obligatory on it without regard to your purpose for it.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الحضانة — islamhouse.com (31:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.