The ruse of gifting to evade the obligatory zakah

Question : Another example: a man has one thousand riyals. Does one thousand riyals have zakah due on it or not?

Answer : It is strange, people. It has zakah. When the lunar year is about to complete—meaning only ten days remain until the year is up—and when the year is completed, the zakah becomes obligatory, is that not so? The man stood up and gave it as a gift to his son. He gave it to his son, so it left his ownership and went to Muslims. It left his ownership and became the son’s ownership. The year ended, and then he went back and took it from his son, because if a man gives something to his son, it is permissible for him to take it back in the case of land. This man gave it to his son in order for the year to pass while it was not in his ownership, so that his zakah would be dropped. What is your opinion on this? Is the zakah dropped from him or not? Why? Because it is a ruse to drop an obligation, and a ruse to drop an obligation is forbidden, and the obligation is not dropped by it. So we take the rule: whoever resorts to a ruse to drop a worship by means of something forbidden, it is forbidden, it is not permissible.