Is zakah obligatory on a deposit with the father?

The questioner : My father, the questioner’s father, has a trust with a family for four years. I paid zakah on it for three years. I asked him for the trust that I deposited with him in the last year, but he did not give me any of it. Is zakah obligatory on it for the last year or not?

The Shaykh : I. A person in the eyes of people is considered to exist in his wealth, so it is obligatory for him to pay its zakah, unless he is prevented from doing so. By this, I mean that if the person who owed it has spent it and is poor, then it is not obligatory for you to pay its zakah. This is because there is no zakah on a debt owed by a poor person. This is because those who hold debts owed by poor people must look after these poor people and not demand repayment from them or press them for it. It is not permissible for a person who has a poor debtor to say, "Give me my debt," nor to speak to him, nor even a quarter of a word. This is because the rule is as stated in: "Whoever finds ."
It is very regrettable that some of this Ummah resemble the Jews in consuming riba (usury or interest), refuge with Allah. Most people consume riba and wrong people. When a debt comes due on a poor person who cannot pay, this creditor tries to trick the poor person into taking on the debt, obligating him to pay it, and turning the debt against him. Or he says, “Borrow from so-and-so and I will pay,” and then when he pays his debt, he pays the second debt, and so on, until hundreds turn into thousands, thousands into hundreds of thousands, and hundreds of thousands into millions, all on this destitute poor person. These people, refuge with Allah, have disobeyed Allah the Exalted; they did not fear Him and did not show mercy to these poor people. It is obligatory for you, if you have a debt on a poor person, to remain silent and not ask him for the debt or demand it from him. If you demand it or ask for it, you are disobeying Allah the Exalted.