The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No. 1684- If a person doubts whether he has paid the obligatory zakāt or not, he should pay it, even if his doubt is with regard to zakāt for earlier years.

Issue No. 1685- A poor person cannot compromise with the payer, for a quantity less than the quantity of zakāt, or accept [as zakāt] something at a price higher than the price of the quantity of zakāt, or take zakāt from its owner and then give it back to him as a present. Even if a person owes a large sum of zakāt, and has become poor and is unable to pay zakāt, it will remain due from him similar to his other debts; and it is not allowed as an obligatory precaution to pay it back to himself.

Issue No. 1686- A person may purchase, using zakāt, the Holy Qur’an and other religious, scientific, or supplication books, and other books that are effective in the promotion of Islamic aims, and dedicate them as waqf (endowment) for the general public or for particular persons. He can even dedicate them as waqf upon his children or upon persons whose maintenance is obligatory on him. However, he cannot purchase a property with zakāt and dedicate it as waqf in favour of his children.

Issue No. 1687- A poor person can receive zakāt for going to ḥajj or perfomring Ziyarat, etc., but if he has received zakāt for his annual expenses, then, it is not permissible to take zakāt for Ziyarat, etc. as an obligatory precaution.

Issue No. 1688- If the owner of a property makes someone his representative in paying the zakāt of his wealth, and if one can gather from what he said that he should pay it to people other than the representative himself, then the representative himself cannot take anything from it for himself, even though he may be a deserving person. However, if what he said implies that he meant every deserving person, then the [deserving] representative can also benefit from it.

Issue No. 1690- If two persons share a property which has become liable to zakāt, and one of them pays his share of zakāt, and then they divide the property, there will be no problem for him to make use of his own share, though his partner may not have paid his share of zakāt.

Issue No. 1691- If a person owes khums or zakāt and it is also obligatory for him to pay atonement and also to give 'nadhr' (vow), etc. and he is also indebted and cannot make all these payments, and the property on which khums or zakāt has become obligatory has not perished, he should give khums and zakāt. In case that property has perished, he should give priority to the people’s right as an obligatory precaution, and if such a person dies, and his wealth is not sufficient for all of these debts, the same order should be observed.

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Issue No. 1692- At the time of sunset during the night of Eid al-Fitr (i.e., the night preceding Eid day), it is obligatory on whoever is sane, needless and mature to give zakāt of fiṭrah to a deserving person, on his own behalf as well as on behalf of those whose maintenance is obligatory on him. Zakāt of fiṭrah per person is about three kilos (one ṣā‘) of food which is common in his area, such as wheat, barley, date, rice, corn, etc. It is also sufficient if he pays the price of one of these items.

Issue No. 1693- A needless person is one who has enough to meet his own expenses, as well as those whose maintenance is obligatory on him for a period of one year, whether he already owns or possesses money for his annual spending or earns income through business. A person who is not in such a state is considered as a poor individual, and it will not be obligatory on him to pay zakāt of fiṭrah, rather, he can receive zakāt of fiṭrah.

Issue No. 1694- One should pay fiṭrah (zakāt of fiṭrah) for all those persons who are his dependents at his house on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, whether they are minors or adults, Muslims or not, their maintenance is obligatory on him or not and whether they are living with him or somewhere else.

Issue No. 1696- It is obligatory to pay the fiṭrah of a guest who arrives at one’s house with the host’s consent and intends to stay for a while, before the sunset of the eve of Eid al-Fitr. However, if he has been invited for Eid al-Fitr night only, it is not obligatory on the host to pay his fiṭrah. If it was without the consent of the owner of the house, the obligatory precaution is to pay his fiṭrah. The same rule applies regarding the payment of fiṭrah if one is compelled to bear the expenses of the maintenance of another person.