A man works for someone under a one-year contract, and they agreed on a monthly salary of a specific amount. After the year has passed and he has received his wages, does he pay zakah on this from the moment he receives it, or does he wait until the lunar year has passed?
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The questioner : This questioner mentions that he works for someone under a one-year contract, and they agreed on a monthly salary of a specific amount. After the year has passed and he has received his wages, does he pay zakah on this from the moment he receives it, or does he wait until the lunar year has passed?
The Shaykh : The preferred course is to pay zakah from the time he receives it, because wages resemble fruit in some respects, and zakah on fruit becomes obligatory when it ripens. Therefore, it is better to pay zakah from the time he receives it. If he waits for the lunar year, then when a year has passed since the first month, he pays its zakah, then the second month, then the third, then the fourth. However, paying it out from the time he receives the wages, as I said, is more cautious, clears his conscience, and is easier in terms of calculation.
The Shaykh : The preferred course is to pay zakah from the time he receives it, because wages resemble fruit in some respects, and zakah on fruit becomes obligatory when it ripens. Therefore, it is better to pay zakah from the time he receives it. If he waits for the lunar year, then when a year has passed since the first month, he pays its zakah, then the second month, then the third, then the fourth. However, paying it out from the time he receives the wages, as I said, is more cautious, clears his conscience, and is easier in terms of calculation.