The Ruling on Zakat of Wealth and Distributing It to Poor Relatives Outside the Country

Question:
The listener Jaber Muhammad Mahmoud, an Egyptian, sent a message saying: I work outside my country, and by the grace of Allah, I have been able to accumulate a considerable amount of money. I would like to pay the zakat, but I do not know the amount of obligatory zakat, nor to whom it is given. Is it given to the poor people gathered in front of the mosques, or to the needy among relatives? And is it permissible for me to send it to those I see as deserving from my countrymen outside the country where I work? I ask for guidance on these matters. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
As for zakat, it is one-quarter of one-tenth, based on the text from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the consensus of the Muslims, regarding currency and trade goods. That is, one share out of forty shares: one-quarter of one-tenth of gold and silver, and what serves as their equivalent in paper currency, and the value of trade goods such as cars, lands, and the like. The value is determined, and then one-quarter of one-tenth is taken from it. In a hundred, it is two and a half; in a thousand, it is twenty-five; and so on. One-quarter of one-tenth means one share out of forty. This is the obligation in currency and its paper equivalent, and it is also the obligation in trade goods. Trade goods are assets intended for sale, such as lands, cars, raw materials, grains, or other commodities. These are called trade goods if they are prepared for sale. If a lunar year passes over them, zakat becomes obligatory on their value: one-quarter of one-tenth.
So if he has cars for sale, and at the completion of the lunar year their value reaches one million, he pays zakat on the one million: one-quarter of one-tenth, which is twenty-five thousand from the million. Because one-tenth of a million is one hundred thousand, and the quarter is twenty-five. This is one-quarter of one-tenth.
Similarly, if he has lands worth a million, prepared for sale, when the lunar year passes over them, he pays one-quarter of one-tenth. He pays one-quarter of their value. If they are worth a million, it is twenty-five thousand. If they are worth one hundred thousand, it is two and a half thousand, two thousand and five hundred, and so on.
The point is one-quarter of one-tenth, which is one share out of forty shares. This is the zakat in currency of gold and silver, and in what serves as their equivalent in paper currency, and in trade goods, which are assets prepared for sale.
As for the zakat of grains and fruits, this is another type. It is one-half of one-tenth for what is irrigated by effort, such as pumps and canals, and one-tenth for what is irrigated by rain and flowing rivers, and rain-fed crops that rely on rain. For these, the full one-tenth is due.
So if there is a thousand kilograms, it becomes one hundred kilograms, and so on. Ten thousand kilograms become one thousand. The zakat is one-tenth for what is irrigated without effort, without cost, by rivers, by rain, or by rain-fed crops, where one sows in the ground and it grows on the soil that has water, without the need for pumps, canals, or labor. For this, the full one-tenth is due, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when asked about it: .
The point is that this is the ruling for what is irrigated by effort and what is irrigated without effort. What is irrigated by effort, such as canals and pumps, has one-half of one-tenth. What is irrigated without effort or cost has the full one-tenth.
As for animals, they have another type of zakat, another category as well, if they are grazing livestock of camels, cattle, and sheep, detailed in the hadiths and in the words of the scholars.
The questioner only asked about currency, and this is the explanation of currency as you heard: one-quarter of one-tenth.
As for its distribution, it is distributed to the poor and the needy and others whom Allah named in His saying—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—: [Surah al-Tawbah: 60].
If there are poor people in his country, whether relatives or others, they are more deserving than others. The poor in the country are more deserving than others, and if they are relatives, they are even more deserving. It is considered both charity and maintaining family ties for them. And if the need arises to transfer it to poor people outside the country, or to poor relatives outside the country, because they are in greater need and greater dire necessity, there is no harm in transferring it, according to the correct opinion. Similarly, if he transfers it to the mujahideen in Afghanistan, or in a land in Palestine, there is no harm in that, because they are in need, and transferring it to them has a great benefit.
And whenever the owner of the zakat exercises independent legal reasoning and distributes it in his country, or to the poor outside his country, whether relatives or others, all of that is permissible, by the grace of Allah, and praise be to Allah. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good. Your Eminence, the Shaykh, if there are poor relatives, do you prefer that the distribution be to them?

The Shaykh : Yes, if there are poor people in the country, they are better and more deserving. And if they are relatives, charity to them is also better, because it is both charity and maintaining family ties. However, it is permissible to transfer it for a stronger benefit. It is permissible to transfer it from one country to another if it is for a stronger benefit, to distant relatives, or to needy mujahideen, or to poor people whose need is severe. For example, he transfers it from Makkah to Jeddah, from Riyadh to al-Kharj, to al-Ahsa, to Abha, or to other places. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah bless you, Your Eminence, the Shaykh. He mentions the poor who gather at the doors of the mosques, and it is mostly the case that they have made begging a profession. What is your guidance, Shaykh Abdul Aziz?

The Shaykh : Whoever displays poverty and need... whoever is known to be a liar is not given, whether he is among those who gather around the mosques or in any place. Whoever claims poverty and need, and the apparent sign is on him, and there is nothing to contradict him, there is no harm in giving to him. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when two men complained to him and asked him for zakat, and he saw them as robust, meaning energetic, said: .
A person may be robust, but he has no money, he did not find... a trade or find work. He is given if he displays need and poverty, and there is nothing to indicate that he is a liar, he is given, because he may be truthful, he did not find work, he did not get anything.
So the result is that whoever displays poverty and need, and asks, and there is nothing to indicate his lying, he is given. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, and benefit us with your knowledge.