Ruling on Refusing What Is Given to an Orphan, and How to Pay Zakah on His Wealth
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This is a woman calling the program, she says—may the Shaykh be respected—: She recalls that she is a woman whose husband has passed away, and she works at a private school, and she praises Allah, and she receives a salary from it that is sufficient for her and her children, and praise be to Allah.
The questioner says: My husband left me a sum of money, and in my country there is enough for me and my children, and I have a small child who is about two years old, and some of the brothers, may Allah reward them with good, bring some items and money and give them to this small child, so I refuse that; because I am not in need of it, and praise be to Allah, and there are those who are more deserving of this, and this is what bothers me and hurts my feelings, and when I sit with myself I fear that I may have disobeyed Allah in His saying: [al-Baqarah: 215] So have I prevented the wealth of this orphan and disobeyed Allah?
Answer:
It is prescribed for you not to refuse it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Umar:Sahih Muslim 1045a So if something comes for the child, keep it for the child, this is the custom among Muslims, giving to children, and presenting suitable gifts to children, so this is a known custom, so if something comes for the child, accept it, keep it, and make it part of his wealth, yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you, the questioner says: My husband left me a sum of money and I divided it among my children according to Islamic law, but I would like to keep this small child's money until he reaches maturity, do I pay zakah on it or not? And if there is zakah, my husband left the money in Dhul-Hijjah, so do I pay it in Ramadan or in Dhul-Hijjah?
The Shaykh: If you keep the money with you, and a lunar year passes over it, pay the money at the completion of the lunar year, at the end of the year, so if the money was acquired by the husband's death in Ramadan, the zakah is in Ramadan on the money that remained, and the cash that remained until Ramadan, and if he died in Dhul-Hijjah, the zakah is in Dhul-Hijjah, and so on at the end of the year.
And if you pay the zakah before the completion of half the lunar year, there is no blame, if you pay it early, there is nothing wrong with it so that the poor may be given it, and the zakah is on you and on the wealth of your children if they have wealth, you pay zakah on their wealth if they have wealth in cash—gold or silver—pay zakah on it, and likewise if they have lands prepared for sale, it is subject to zakah if a lunar year passes over it, whether they are adults or not, the zakah is on all of them, if a lunar year passes over the money after the death of the deceased, its owner pays zakah on it, if it is gold or silver, pay zakah on it if a lunar year passes over it, and if it is real estate for sale, pay zakah on it at the end of the year, and whoever pays the zakah before the completion of the lunar year, paying it for the benefit, seeing poor people and paying them the zakah, there is nothing wrong, no blame.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
This is a woman calling the program, she says—may the Shaykh be respected—: She recalls that she is a woman whose husband has passed away, and she works at a private school, and she praises Allah, and she receives a salary from it that is sufficient for her and her children, and praise be to Allah.
The questioner says: My husband left me a sum of money, and in my country there is enough for me and my children, and I have a small child who is about two years old, and some of the brothers, may Allah reward them with good, bring some items and money and give them to this small child, so I refuse that; because I am not in need of it, and praise be to Allah, and there are those who are more deserving of this, and this is what bothers me and hurts my feelings, and when I sit with myself I fear that I may have disobeyed Allah in His saying:
They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, "Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler.
يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلْ مَا أَنفَقْتُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِAnswer:
It is prescribed for you not to refuse it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Umar:
Take out of this wealth which comes to you without your being avaricious and without begging, but in other circumstance's do not let your heart hanker after it.
ما جاءك من هذا المال وأنت غير مشرف ولا سائل فاقبله، وما لا فلا تتبعه نفسكThe presenter: May Allah reward you, the questioner says: My husband left me a sum of money and I divided it among my children according to Islamic law, but I would like to keep this small child's money until he reaches maturity, do I pay zakah on it or not? And if there is zakah, my husband left the money in Dhul-Hijjah, so do I pay it in Ramadan or in Dhul-Hijjah?
The Shaykh: If you keep the money with you, and a lunar year passes over it, pay the money at the completion of the lunar year, at the end of the year, so if the money was acquired by the husband's death in Ramadan, the zakah is in Ramadan on the money that remained, and the cash that remained until Ramadan, and if he died in Dhul-Hijjah, the zakah is in Dhul-Hijjah, and so on at the end of the year.
And if you pay the zakah before the completion of half the lunar year, there is no blame, if you pay it early, there is nothing wrong with it so that the poor may be given it, and the zakah is on you and on the wealth of your children if they have wealth, you pay zakah on their wealth if they have wealth in cash—gold or silver—pay zakah on it, and likewise if they have lands prepared for sale, it is subject to zakah if a lunar year passes over it, whether they are adults or not, the zakah is on all of them, if a lunar year passes over the money after the death of the deceased, its owner pays zakah on it, if it is gold or silver, pay zakah on it if a lunar year passes over it, and if it is real estate for sale, pay zakah on it at the end of the year, and whoever pays the zakah before the completion of the lunar year, paying it for the benefit, seeing poor people and paying them the zakah, there is nothing wrong, no blame.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.