Explanation of the author's statement: "And whoever has a debt or a right, such as a bridal gift or otherwise, upon a solvent person or otherwise, pays its zakah for the past period when he receives it."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then he said: "And whoever has a debt or a right, such as a bridal gift or otherwise, upon a solvent person or otherwise, pays its zakah for the past period when he receives it." This is also a matter of scholarly disagreement. Whoever has a debt or a right—by debt, we mean what is established in the liability of another, such as a loan, the price of a sale, rent, or the like. Everything that is established in the liability of another for you is a debt or a right, such as a borrowed item in his possession, a deposit, or other rights, such as a bridal gift or otherwise. A bridal gift for whom? The bridal gift.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : For the wife. And "other than that" means other than the bridal gift, such as the compensation for khul' established for the husband. "Upon a solvent person or otherwise". The solvent person is the wealthy one. "Or otherwise" is the poor one. And we add "and upon one who pays or one who delays". It is obligatory for him to purify it with zakah for the past period when he receives it. He purifies it for the past period when he receives it. For example, if he has one hundred dirhams due from four people, fifty dirhams from each, and they remained with them for years, and when he receives them, if their zakah is more than the amount, what do we say? We say: pay its zakah, even if it is more than the amount, if you have wealth that completes the nisab. But if you have no wealth other than it, in the first year it falls short of the nisab and nothing is obligatory in it. Now—pay attention—we will take examples of this.
A man sold a piece of land to a person for one hundred thousand, and the person was poor, and the one hundred thousand remained with him for ten years, then he received it. How much does he pay?
The questioner : Ten years.
The Shaykh : Ten years. He says: purify it for the past period. Yes. He says: purify it?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : He paid its zakah for the past period. He paid its zakah.
The questioner : When he receives it.
The Shaykh : When he receives it. Yes, I said: received. For example, the amount received: a man sold a piece of land for one hundred thousand to a person, and its price remained with him for ten years, then he received it. He pays its zakah for the past period. And we benefit from his saying "paid" that this zakah is a performance (ada') and not a making up (qada'). How much zakah is in one hundred thousand?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Two thousand and five hundred, for ten years? Twenty-five thousand.
The questioner : A quarter.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five thousand.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, he has wealth. If he had nothing else, we would omit it, because the zakah would be a debt upon him, and a debt removes the zakah. But he has wealth, so he pays twenty-five thousand for it. Its zakah becomes the full quarter, and the zakah of dirhams is a quarter of a tenth. This is because he pays it for everything that has passed. Another example: a man rented his house to a person for one thousand dirhams, and the term ended after one year, but the tenant delayed until the one thousand remained with him for ten years. What is the zakah of the one thousand each year?
The questioner : Twenty-five.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five. And it remained with him for how long? Ten years. What is its zakah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Two hundred and fifty. And it is one thousand, meaning the quarter. All of this is based on the path the author followed. A man married a woman with a bridal gift of twenty thousand, but he did not deliver the bridal gift, and the wife remained with him for ten years, then he gave her the mahr. What is its zakah in ten years, and it is twenty thousand? Five thousand, the quarter, and so on.
And this is what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) held, that zakah is obligatory on the debt every year, whether it is upon a solvent one who pays, or upon a poor person, or upon a solvent one who delays, or upon a wealthy one who pays, saying: "Whenever you wish, I will give it to you." And whether it is deferred or due immediately, zakah is in all debts every year, but it is not obligatory for him to pay it until he receives the debt. This is one of the opinions in the issue. The second opinion is that if the debt is upon one who is unable to pay, there is no zakah in it, even if it remains for twenty years. And if it is upon one who is able to pay, there is zakah in it every year, like the school of thought. The third opinion is that there is no zakah on the debt absolutely, whether it is upon a wealthy person or not, because the debt is in the liability of another and not in your hand, so it is not part of your wealth. Therefore, there is no zakah on the debt until he receives it. Now, when he receives it, does he pay the zakah immediately in the year of receipt, or does he wait until the lunar year is completed, so that if the wealth perishes before the completion of the year, there is no zakah in it? We say: if it is upon a wealthy person, the correct view is that zakah is obligatory in it every year, but he pays it when he receives the debt. As for if it is upon one who is unable to pay, there is no zakah on him, even if it remains for ten years. But when he receives it, he purifies it once in the year of receipt, and then whenever the year turns over for him, he purifies it.
The second opinion in this issue says: he does not purify it when he first receives it, but when the lunar year is completed for him, he purifies it. And on this, the lunar year is restarted from his receipt. Now, yes.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : For the wife. And "other than that" means other than the bridal gift, such as the compensation for khul' established for the husband. "Upon a solvent person or otherwise". The solvent person is the wealthy one. "Or otherwise" is the poor one. And we add "and upon one who pays or one who delays". It is obligatory for him to purify it with zakah for the past period when he receives it. He purifies it for the past period when he receives it. For example, if he has one hundred dirhams due from four people, fifty dirhams from each, and they remained with them for years, and when he receives them, if their zakah is more than the amount, what do we say? We say: pay its zakah, even if it is more than the amount, if you have wealth that completes the nisab. But if you have no wealth other than it, in the first year it falls short of the nisab and nothing is obligatory in it. Now—pay attention—we will take examples of this.
A man sold a piece of land to a person for one hundred thousand, and the person was poor, and the one hundred thousand remained with him for ten years, then he received it. How much does he pay?
The questioner : Ten years.
The Shaykh : Ten years. He says: purify it for the past period. Yes. He says: purify it?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : He paid its zakah for the past period. He paid its zakah.
The questioner : When he receives it.
The Shaykh : When he receives it. Yes, I said: received. For example, the amount received: a man sold a piece of land for one hundred thousand to a person, and its price remained with him for ten years, then he received it. He pays its zakah for the past period. And we benefit from his saying "paid" that this zakah is a performance (ada') and not a making up (qada'). How much zakah is in one hundred thousand?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Two thousand and five hundred, for ten years? Twenty-five thousand.
The questioner : A quarter.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five thousand.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, he has wealth. If he had nothing else, we would omit it, because the zakah would be a debt upon him, and a debt removes the zakah. But he has wealth, so he pays twenty-five thousand for it. Its zakah becomes the full quarter, and the zakah of dirhams is a quarter of a tenth. This is because he pays it for everything that has passed. Another example: a man rented his house to a person for one thousand dirhams, and the term ended after one year, but the tenant delayed until the one thousand remained with him for ten years. What is the zakah of the one thousand each year?
The questioner : Twenty-five.
The Shaykh : Twenty-five. And it remained with him for how long? Ten years. What is its zakah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Two hundred and fifty. And it is one thousand, meaning the quarter. All of this is based on the path the author followed. A man married a woman with a bridal gift of twenty thousand, but he did not deliver the bridal gift, and the wife remained with him for ten years, then he gave her the mahr. What is its zakah in ten years, and it is twenty thousand? Five thousand, the quarter, and so on.
And this is what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) held, that zakah is obligatory on the debt every year, whether it is upon a solvent one who pays, or upon a poor person, or upon a solvent one who delays, or upon a wealthy one who pays, saying: "Whenever you wish, I will give it to you." And whether it is deferred or due immediately, zakah is in all debts every year, but it is not obligatory for him to pay it until he receives the debt. This is one of the opinions in the issue. The second opinion is that if the debt is upon one who is unable to pay, there is no zakah in it, even if it remains for twenty years. And if it is upon one who is able to pay, there is zakah in it every year, like the school of thought. The third opinion is that there is no zakah on the debt absolutely, whether it is upon a wealthy person or not, because the debt is in the liability of another and not in your hand, so it is not part of your wealth. Therefore, there is no zakah on the debt until he receives it. Now, when he receives it, does he pay the zakah immediately in the year of receipt, or does he wait until the lunar year is completed, so that if the wealth perishes before the completion of the year, there is no zakah in it? We say: if it is upon a wealthy person, the correct view is that zakah is obligatory in it every year, but he pays it when he receives the debt. As for if it is upon one who is unable to pay, there is no zakah on him, even if it remains for ten years. But when he receives it, he purifies it once in the year of receipt, and then whenever the year turns over for him, he purifies it.
The second opinion in this issue says: he does not purify it when he first receives it, but when the lunar year is completed for him, he purifies it. And on this, the lunar year is restarted from his receipt. Now, yes.