The Ruling on Zakah in Monthly Salaries
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An employee receives a fixed salary and has no income other than this salary. Is he required to pay zakah?
If a lunar year has passed, he is required to pay zakah. However, if he has, for example, one thousand riyals and spends one thousand riyals in the month, he owes no zakah. This is because, certainly, just as he will spend one thousand riyals in the month of Muharram, he will spend it before the month of Safar begins, and Safar before Rabi' begins, so he is left with nothing. But if he has something left over, he is required to pay zakah. But how does he pay zakah on these salaries?There are two methods: The first method: He says, for example, "Five hundred riyals came to me in the month of Muharram, and five hundred riyals in the month of Safar." He pays zakah on the five hundred riyals in the month of Muharram, and zakah on the five hundred riyals in the month of Safar. There is no doubt that this involves difficulty, as it is difficult for a person to keep track of what comes to him in the months and wait for the completion of the lunar year. So we see that a person should designate a specific month, which is the month in which he receives his salary, as the time for his zakah.
When? If he receives it in Muharram, when Muharram comes in the second year, he looks at what he has. If he has, for example, five thousand riyals, he pays zakah on five thousand riyals, including the salary for the upcoming month of Dhul-Hijjah, meaning: This is more comfortable.
All right! The lunar year for the month of Dhul-Hijjah has not completed, but there is no harm in a person paying zakah before the completion of the lunar year.
If a lunar year has passed, he is required to pay zakah. However, if he has, for example, one thousand riyals and spends one thousand riyals in the month, he owes no zakah. This is because, certainly, just as he will spend one thousand riyals in the month of Muharram, he will spend it before the month of Safar begins, and Safar before Rabi' begins, so he is left with nothing. But if he has something left over, he is required to pay zakah. But how does he pay zakah on these salaries?There are two methods: The first method: He says, for example, "Five hundred riyals came to me in the month of Muharram, and five hundred riyals in the month of Safar." He pays zakah on the five hundred riyals in the month of Muharram, and zakah on the five hundred riyals in the month of Safar. There is no doubt that this involves difficulty, as it is difficult for a person to keep track of what comes to him in the months and wait for the completion of the lunar year. So we see that a person should designate a specific month, which is the month in which he receives his salary, as the time for his zakah.
When? If he receives it in Muharram, when Muharram comes in the second year, he looks at what he has. If he has, for example, five thousand riyals, he pays zakah on five thousand riyals, including the salary for the upcoming month of Dhul-Hijjah, meaning: This is more comfortable.
All right! The lunar year for the month of Dhul-Hijjah has not completed, but there is no harm in a person paying zakah before the completion of the lunar year.