Continuation of the issue: Is sanity and reaching puberty a condition for the obligation of zakah?
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The Shaykh : If someone were to say, "If we make zakah obligatory on the wealth of a minor and a person of unsound mind, this leads to a decrease in their wealth, and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-An'am 6:152]" The answer is that it should be said that this decrease is, in reality, a perfection and an increase, because zakah purifies and grows the wealth. So although it is a sensory decrease, it is a conceptual perfection and increase. And the argument that it is refuted by the obligation of maintenance on them does not hold. If the wealth of a minor and a person of unsound mind were subject to the obligation of maintenance, for example, for the wife of the person of unsound mind, would it not decrease? Yes?
The questioner : It decreases.
The Shaykh : It decreases. And if the person of unsound mind were a father with children, it would be obligatory to spend on his children from his wealth. And if the minor were a father with children, it would be obligatory to spend on them from his wealth, on his children from his wealth.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How? Yes, if he has children, he is an adult of legal age; it is not possible for him to have children except after reaching legal age. The summary is that the view that zakah is obligatory on the wealth of a minor and a person of unsound mind is the correct one. As for the issue of decrease, it is not valid. The answer to the verse[Al-An'am 6:152] is that we say zakah is from the best of wealth, without a doubt, it is from the best of wealth. If someone were to say, "If you say that zakah is from the best, is charity also from the best? Do you permit giving charity from the wealth of an orphan and a person of unsound mind?" The answer is no. So how do you say this is better, while in charity it is not better? We say that charity is pure generosity, and the conscience is not burdened by leaving it, whereas zakah is an obligation, and the conscience is burdened by leaving it. This is the difference. For this reason, if the costs of maintenance items become high, and the cloth, this linen, is one hundred riyals and the cloth of jute is ten riyals, do we buy clothes of jute for the orphan or clothes of linen?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The second one, the linen, because this is the customary. If that is the case, we say that zakah is all the more reason to be paid from the wealth of the orphan, because it is more significant than what we pay from his wealth for a garment he wears, or rather, it is part of his perfection.
And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best
ولا تقربوا مال اليتيم إلا بالتي هي أحسنThe questioner : It decreases.
The Shaykh : It decreases. And if the person of unsound mind were a father with children, it would be obligatory to spend on his children from his wealth. And if the minor were a father with children, it would be obligatory to spend on them from his wealth, on his children from his wealth.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How? Yes, if he has children, he is an adult of legal age; it is not possible for him to have children except after reaching legal age. The summary is that the view that zakah is obligatory on the wealth of a minor and a person of unsound mind is the correct one. As for the issue of decrease, it is not valid. The answer to the verse
And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best
ولا تقربوا مال اليتيم إلا بالتي هي أحسنThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The second one, the linen, because this is the customary. If that is the case, we say that zakah is all the more reason to be paid from the wealth of the orphan, because it is more significant than what we pay from his wealth for a garment he wears, or rather, it is part of his perfection.