Delaying Zakah Until a Time of Greater Need

Question : Should we pay all our zakah in Ramadan, or should we pay it at other times when the need is greater? The scholars have stated that it is permissible to delay the zakah from the time it becomes obligatory until a time when people are in greater need. A questioner says: I am a student, and I receive a salary from the university of eight hundred and fifty riyals. I also receive a reward for leading the prayer at the mosque, which I think is two thousand, five hundred, and twenty. Is there any zakah on me, considering that a lunar year does not pass over any of it? And if a lunar year passes over a portion of it, is there zakah on it?

Answer : This, if Allah wills, will be covered in the next lesson when discussing the conditions for the obligation of zakah. I tell my brother that there is no need to go into this level of detail regarding his income. If he simply said, "I receive a salary or money, but a lunar year does not pass over it before it is spent," that would be sufficient. He could say, "My salary at the university is eight hundred and fifty; it might be delayed or deducted later." Likewise, regarding the adhan or leading the prayer, two thousand five hundred—there is no need for this. Yes.