How to Determine the Hawl for Money Received in Installments

Q: If a person has a source of income that comes to him bit by bit, such as an employee or a merchant or the like, and he spends from it and does not know which portion has completed the hawl, how should he handle the zakah?

A: One in such a situation should record the times when the money comes in and note them down so that he knows the hawl for the zakah. He should set aside a specific amount for expenses, and whenever that amount is used up, he should replace it with another so that the matter of the zakah does not become confused for him. However, if he is willing to pay the zakah on the total amount of money accumulated with him each year, considering the first money that reached him, there is no harm in that, and he does not need to record the times of the incoming funds. This is because if he pays zakah on the whole, his conscience is fully cleared, and whatever exceeds the zakah is voluntary charity. The reward for charity is well known and great. May Allah make us and you among those who give charity. And success is from Allah.