What is the ruling for one who has date palms in his house and did not pay the zakah on their fruit out of ignorance, and how should he act after years have passed and he does not know the amount of that zakah?

The questioner : What is the ruling for one who has date palms in his house and did not pay the zakah on their fruit out of ignorance, and how should he act after years have passed and he does not know the amount of that zakah?

The Shaykh : This is a matter whose solution is easy and simple. One should estimate to the best of his ability. If he estimates that the zakah is one hundred riyals and that it may be more, we say: add to it, for that is better for you. If the increase is what was obligatory, then you have cleared your conscience. If the increase is extra, then you have volunteered in charity, and every person will be in the shade of his charity on the Day of Resurrection. We must know that zakah is not a burden or a loss, but rather, by Allah, it is a great gain. If it were not for what Allah the Exalted said: that alone would be sufficient. How much more so, when the texts indicate the multiplication of spending in the path of Allah, and the greatest spending in the path of Allah is paying zakah. But Satan makes zakah heavy for people and makes voluntary charity light for them. You find a person giving thousands in charity, yet it is difficult for him to pay zakah in the hundreds, even though it is obligatory. There is no doubt that this is from Satan. This is also found in prayer. You find a person in voluntary prayer whose heart and limbs are humble and who is deliberate in his prayer, but in the obligatory prayer, you find him as if he is being chased; his heart and limbs are not humble, and the tranquility that he should bring about is not achieved. All of this is from the inspiration of Satan, for Allah the Exalted said in the Holy Hadith: If a person were to spend one dirham in zakah and one dirham in charity, the dirham of zakah would be more beloved to Allah and have a greater reward. If he were to pray two rak'ahs of obligatory prayer, such as the Fajr prayer, and two rak'ahs of voluntary prayer, the obligatory prayer would be better and more beloved to Allah the Exalted. Therefore, we say to this man who had date palms whose fruit reached the nisab, and he was a resident of the house, not an owner of a grove, but a resident whose house had date palms whose fruit reached the nisab: We say to him: For the years that have passed, estimate the zakah, then add to what you estimate. This increase, if it is more than the obligatory amount, is voluntary charity, and every person will be in the shade of his charity on the Day of Resurrection. If it is the obligatory amount, then you have cleared your conscience.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for the blessed guidance.