Is it permissible to calculate the lunar year for zakah using the Gregorian calendar?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Of course, most people do this, and we are among them.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. I mean, we pay it at the end of the Gregorian year, ... whereas it is supposed to be at the end of the Hijri year.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Because it differs by about fourteen days or so.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So I spoke to my father.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : It is not strange that this is, of course, thirteen or fourteen days more for us.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He said, "I will pay it, if Allah wills, with an extra amount, meaning, for example, if it comes out to one hundred, I will pay one hundred and twenty."
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : One hundred and ten.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So I am telling you, regarding these ten or twenty, consider them as part of the thirty days. Is there anything wrong with this?
The Shaykh : What? What am I supposed to say?
The questioner : I mean, for example, according to the calculation, his zakah comes out to one thousand dinars.
The Shaykh : No, I understood the extra amount. It comes out to twenty extra.
The questioner : On the basis of ... the one thousand pounds for the fourteen extra days in the Gregorian year on which he bases his calculation.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Yes, so does this clear his conscience, meaning?
The Shaykh : Yes, it clears his conscience in terms of what? The zakah. But we do not think that a Muslim should record his accounts according to the disbelievers' calendar. It clears his conscience regarding the zakah, but writing it down according to the Islamic Shari'ah is not correct.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh: Is it clear?
The questioner : Is that clear?
The Shaykh: All right.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. I mean, we pay it at the end of the Gregorian year, ... whereas it is supposed to be at the end of the Hijri year.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Because it differs by about fourteen days or so.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : So I spoke to my father.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : It is not strange that this is, of course, thirteen or fourteen days more for us.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He said, "I will pay it, if Allah wills, with an extra amount, meaning, for example, if it comes out to one hundred, I will pay one hundred and twenty."
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : One hundred and ten.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So I am telling you, regarding these ten or twenty, consider them as part of the thirty days. Is there anything wrong with this?
The Shaykh : What? What am I supposed to say?
The questioner : I mean, for example, according to the calculation, his zakah comes out to one thousand dinars.
The Shaykh : No, I understood the extra amount. It comes out to twenty extra.
The questioner : On the basis of ... the one thousand pounds for the fourteen extra days in the Gregorian year on which he bases his calculation.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Yes, so does this clear his conscience, meaning?
The Shaykh : Yes, it clears his conscience in terms of what? The zakah. But we do not think that a Muslim should record his accounts according to the disbelievers' calendar. It clears his conscience regarding the zakah, but writing it down according to the Islamic Shari'ah is not correct.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh: Is it clear?
The questioner : Is that clear?
The Shaykh: All right.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.