Is the zakah of my younger brother's money, which is in my possession, obligatory upon me?
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The questioner : If you please, regarding this younger brother of mine, a sum of money came to him from the estate. The amount that came to him is not with him; I, for example, took it from him. Is it permissible for him to...
Another questioner : ... .
The questioner : Is it obligatory for him to pay its zakah?
The Shaykh : Do you pay its zakah, or does he pay it?
Another questioner : I did.
The questioner : Because it is with me.
Another questioner : As a debt, as a debt, I mean.
The Shaykh : If you asked about patching up your neighbor's speech, you would say: debt. Is your brother's money a debt?
The questioner : A debt to me, yes.
The Shaykh : Are you the debtor?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I see it is weak, isn't it? [Everyone laughs!]
The questioner : I am not the father; the father is the one who is indebted.
The Shaykh : You mean the deceased?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : How did this happen, then?
Another questioner : That is a second problem. [Everyone laughs!]
Another questioner : Everyone received their share except the youngest; his share is with the eldest.
The questioner : It is with me, basically.
The Shaykh : Consider it a debt.
The questioner : Ah, as a debt with me.
The Shaykh : This share of your brother whom you called the youngest, and I see him as older in some way! Do you know your sin?! [Everyone laughs!] Did you hold his right with you against his will, or with his consent?
The questioner : No, with his consent.
The Shaykh : With his consent. The answer to your question: If this money belonging to your brother is with you and he has not died, it is obligatory for him to calculate its zakah every year.The Shaykh : (laughs) ].
Another questioner : No, if Allah wills...
The questioner : All right; is it permissible, for example, if more than a year has passed, to work on the debt?
The Shaykh : Every year you must calculate the zakah of this money, every year.
The questioner : All right; what if I collect their zakah together after three years?
The Shaykh : And are you guaranteeing that you will live after three years? May Allah forgive you.
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : We must know that there is no difference between my money that is with me, for which it is obligatory to pay zakah every year, and that it is not permissible for me to delay paying the zakah of this money until after two or three years. Rather, it is obligatory for me to pay the zakah of this money for each year in its own year. There is no difference between me and this money that is with me, and this money if it were with someone else; in the sense that it is obligatory to pay the zakah of this money in each year in its own year. There is no difference; whether it is money with me or my money is a debt with someone else. Why is it not permissible? Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:[Ali 'Imran 3:133], ; because a person—and we see the evidence every day—does not know when the certainty, meaning death, will come to him. If this person dies, having left, for example, four hundred dinars, and he owed the zakah for four years, these four hundred dinars came out of his wealth and went to whom? To the heirs. So he died in a state of disobedience, he died as an open sinner; because he did not obey Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His saying: [Al-Ma'arij 70:24-25].
The Shaykh: But here is a matter that must be pointed out. Is your money with your brother a loan or a partnership? If it is a loan, you have understood the previous statement. If it is a partnership—meaning a share in trade or something else—then it has a different ruling.
The questioner : No, it is a loan, a loan, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : If it is a loan, the answer is what you heard.
Another questioner : ... .
The questioner : Is it obligatory for him to pay its zakah?
The Shaykh : Do you pay its zakah, or does he pay it?
Another questioner : I did.
The questioner : Because it is with me.
Another questioner : As a debt, as a debt, I mean.
The Shaykh : If you asked about patching up your neighbor's speech, you would say: debt. Is your brother's money a debt?
The questioner : A debt to me, yes.
The Shaykh : Are you the debtor?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I see it is weak, isn't it? [Everyone laughs!]
The questioner : I am not the father; the father is the one who is indebted.
The Shaykh : You mean the deceased?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : How did this happen, then?
Another questioner : That is a second problem. [Everyone laughs!]
Another questioner : Everyone received their share except the youngest; his share is with the eldest.
The questioner : It is with me, basically.
The Shaykh : Consider it a debt.
The questioner : Ah, as a debt with me.
The Shaykh : This share of your brother whom you called the youngest, and I see him as older in some way! Do you know your sin?! [Everyone laughs!] Did you hold his right with you against his will, or with his consent?
The questioner : No, with his consent.
The Shaykh : With his consent. The answer to your question: If this money belonging to your brother is with you and he has not died, it is obligatory for him to calculate its zakah every year.The Shaykh : (laughs) ].
Another questioner : No, if Allah wills...
The questioner : All right; is it permissible, for example, if more than a year has passed, to work on the debt?
The Shaykh : Every year you must calculate the zakah of this money, every year.
The questioner : All right; what if I collect their zakah together after three years?
The Shaykh : And are you guaranteeing that you will live after three years? May Allah forgive you.
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : We must know that there is no difference between my money that is with me, for which it is obligatory to pay zakah every year, and that it is not permissible for me to delay paying the zakah of this money until after two or three years. Rather, it is obligatory for me to pay the zakah of this money for each year in its own year. There is no difference between me and this money that is with me, and this money if it were with someone else; in the sense that it is obligatory to pay the zakah of this money in each year in its own year. There is no difference; whether it is money with me or my money is a debt with someone else. Why is it not permissible? Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:
And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous
وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَHasten to forgiveness from your Lord
سَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْwithin whose wealth is a known right (25) For the petitioner and the deprived -
فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَعْلُومٌ * لِلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِThe Shaykh: But here is a matter that must be pointed out. Is your money with your brother a loan or a partnership? If it is a loan, you have understood the previous statement. If it is a partnership—meaning a share in trade or something else—then it has a different ruling.
The questioner : No, it is a loan, a loan, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : If it is a loan, the answer is what you heard.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.