Answer to Question
Expediting the Zakaah
To Hossam Abu Asab
(Translated)

Question

As-Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu,

Does the ‘entering of the time’, if such an expression is correct to say, conform to the word ‘time’ in respect to the Hukm of the Zakaah.

The question: If the Zakaah upon wealth is extracted before the passing of the Hawl (year), then is that which has been taken out with the intention of its being Zakaah actually Zakaah or is it considered to be Sadaqah whilst the obligation of the Zakaah does not fall except after the passing of a Hawl (year) upon the wealth? And is the case of the Zakaah like that of the Salaah, Siyaam (fasting) and the Hajj in respect to being tied to a known time in which it is not permitted in other than it. And so if the obligation of the Zakaah is tied to a time, which is the Hawl (year), then is it obligatory to adhere to the year whilst it is not permissible for us to extract the Zakaah before that due to what is built upon it in terms of having an increase in wealth? Jazaakallahu Khairan and the answer is a necessary matter for me.

Answer

Wa Alaikum us-Salaam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu,

Firstly: The subject of expediting the Zakaah... I present the following:

1) The passing of the Hawl (year) is the Shart (condition) in respect to the Sabab (cause) of the Zakaah “An-Nisaab”. If the condition is met where the year has passed over the Sabab “An-Nisaab” without its decreasing (below the Nisaab i.e. amount that Zakaah is obligatory upon), then the Zakaah has become obligatory... However, if the Zakaah is extracted before its obligation then this extraction is permissible due to Shar’iyah Adillah (evidences) that have been mentioned. These include:

Al-Baihaqi recorded in his Sunan Al-Kubraa from ‘Ali:

«أَنَّ الْعَبَّاسَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللهِ (ص) فِي تَعْجِيلِ صَدَقَتِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَحِلَّ فَأَذِنَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ»

“Al-‘Abbaas (ra) asked the Messenger of Allah (saw) about expediting his Sadaqah before a Hawl (year) passes and he (saw) gave permission for him to do that”... And Ad-Daaruqutni in his Sunan related from Hujr Al-‘Adawiy from ‘Ali who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said to ‘Umar:

«إِنَّا قَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ الْعَبَّاسِ زَكَاةَ الْعَامِ عَامِ الْأَوَّلِ»

“Verily, we have taken from Al-‘Abbaas the Zakaah of the year on the first year”.

Based upon this, the expediting of the Zakaah before its obligation is a permissible matter and that which the one expediting the Zakaah has extracted is considered to relieve the Fard and it is not considered as a recommended act of Sadaqah.

2 – The meaning of expediting the Zakaah is that the person gives the Zakaah before the end of the Hawl (passing of a year). So if he was to reach the amount of the Nisaab in Muharram of this year then the end of his Hawl (year) would be Muharram of the following year and at that time the Zakaah would be obligatory. However, it is permitted to expedite that Zakaah which is obligatory at the end of that year (Hawl) by paying in Ramadan of that year for example, which would be before its appointed time by four months. In respect to the manner in which this is undertaken then there is a difference in opinion amongst the Fuqahaa (jurists) and I will now present two of these opinions:

Ibn Qudaamah in Al-Mughni says that it is permissible to advance the Zakaah before the passing of the Hawl (year) upon the Nisaab and he responded to those who say that it is not permissible by saying: (We have what At-Tirmidhi related from ‘Ali: From the Prophet (saw) that he said to ‘Umar:

«عَنْ النَّبِيِّ : أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِعُمَرَ: إنَّا قَدْ أَخَذْنَا زَكَاةَ الْعَبَّاسِ عَامَ الْأَوَّلِ لِلْعَامِ. وَفِي لَفْظٍ قَالَ: إنَّا كُنَّا تَعَجَّلْنَا صَدَقَةَ الْعَبَّاسِ لِعَامِنَا هَذَا عَامَ أَوَّلَ»

“Verily, we have taken from Al-‘Abbaas the Zakaah of the first year for the year” and in another version: “Verily we have made the Sadaqah of Al-‘Abbaas for this year of ours a first year”. Sa’eed related it from ‘Ataa’, Ibn Abi Mulaikah and Al-Hasan Bin Muslim from the Prophet (saw) as a Mursal narration). However, he viewed the expediting to only be for the wealth of the Nisaab when he said: (And if he has possessed the Nisaab, then advanced his Zakaah and the Zakaah of that which he has derived benefit from (or acquired), what has been produced from him, or been profitable in, is partitioned from the Nisaab without increase). And he adds: ‘And Abu Haneefah said that it counts for him because it is line with what he was the possessor of...’. As you see the scholars of the Hanbali Fiqh viewed the (permissibility of) expediting the Zakaah upon wealth in one’s possession if it was greater than the Nisaab whilst they did not permit expediting for the increase that resulted from this wealth or from it like the profit for example or something like that within the remaining period until the end of the Hawl (year)... As for Abu Haneefah, then he permitted expediting the Zakaah for all of that.

And I do not wish to adopt an opinion from either of them and it is for you to pursue any opinion from these two that you are confident in. Consequently, if you possessed the Nisaab for example in Muharram of this year and wanted to expedite the (payment of) Zakaah in Ramadan instead of waiting until the end of the year in the Muharram of the following year, then you can do the following:

- Either expedite the Zakaah of the wealth that you have available to you in Ramadan if it was greater than the Nisaab and then at the end of the Hawl (passing of the year) in Muharram you count the wealth that you have as a result of the wealth that you advanced its Zakaah in Ramadan like the profit resulting from it for example or something like that.

You would then give the increase upon the wealth that you had given as Zakaah in Ramadan as Zakaah (at that time). So for example, if the wealth that you had advanced its Zakaah in Ramadan was 10,000 and then at the end of the year in Muharram there was a profit resulting from the wealth that you had given Zakaah for of 5,000 which means that the wealth you have at the end of the Hawl (passing of the year) is 15,000 then you would give Zakaah of the 5,000 more because you had expedited the 10,000.

- Or you would count the wealth that you have available to you in Ramadan and estimate the wealth that would result from it from profit for example until the end of the Hawl (passing of the year upon the Nisaab) in Muharram and then pay the Zakaah for that sum amount i.e. the wealth that you have available at that time in Ramadan in addition to the estimated amount that will result from it by the end of the Hawl (passing of the year) in Muharram. You would expedite the payment of the Zakaah for all of that. So for example it could be 18,000. If in this case if the sum of wealth that you have meaning “The original amount and the profit” at the end of the year in Muharram was greater than the wealth that you had given Zakaah for, where it is 20,000 for example, then in such a case it is obligatory to pay the Zakaah of the increase of the 2,000.

And I ask Allah (swt) to accept your Zakaah and for it to be good for you and an intercessor of the day where no wealth or children can avail except for the one who has come to Allah with a sound heart (Qalb Saleem).

Secondly: The subject of the time of the Zakaah and the Salaah:

The time in respect to the Salaah is a Sabab (cause) and the Sabab obliges from its existence presence and from its non-presence it obliges absence. Consequently, the ruling (Hukm) revolves with it in presence and absence.

Therefore, it is not valid to pray before the entering of the time or after the time has been exited from. So for example in respect to the Zhuhr prayer the Messenger of Allah (saw) said as was recorded by At-Tabaraani in Al-Kabeer from Khabbaab who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: «إِذَا زَالَتِ الشَّمْسُ فَصَلُّوا» “If the sun moves passed the Zawaal (highest position of the sun) then pray” and Al-Bayhaqi also recorded it. And he (saw) said in the Hadeeth about the times of the Salaah in respect to the Zhuhr prayer as recorded by Muslim from Abdullah Ibn Amr:

«وَقْتُ الظُّهْرِ إِذَا زَالَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَكَانَ ظِلُّ الرَّجُلِ كَطُولِهِ، مَا لَمْ يَحْضُرِ الْعَصْرُ»

“The time of Zhuhr is when the sun passes the Zawaal and the shadow of the man is like his height as long as ‘Asr has not come”. These are Asbaab (causes) and so the Salaah is not valid in other than when the Sabab is present. And as we said previously the Salaah of Zhohr is not valid before the Zawaal and not after the time for it has been exited from.

As for the Hawl (passing of a year) in respect to the Zakaah then it is not a Sabab but rather it is the Shart (condition) in relation to the Sabab. For that reason, the non-occurrence of the Shart differs from the non-occurrence of the Sabab and particularly when there is a text that permits the advancing of the payment of the Zakaah before the end of the Hawl. As for the Nisaab in respect to the Zakaah then this is the Sabab. For that reason, before the possession of the Nisaab no Zakaah has been obliged and it is only Sadaqah. This is the difference in regards to the subject of the Hawl in respect to the Zakaah and the subject of the time of the Salaah. And in this there is enough In Shaa’a Allah.

Your Brother,
Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

7th Dhul Hijjah 1437 AH
Corresponding to 09/09/2016 CE

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