Conditions for Zakaah Being Obligatory, - Dought & clear, - * Zakaahon money in the bank

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One full year has passed for some of the money that is in the bank that is not in a savings account. Some of it is deducted monthly to pay bank charges, as well as bills for water, electricity and household insurance. Is it permissible to pay zakaah on it or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Saving money in riba-based banks is helping them to commit riba (usury) on which these banks are based, so it is not permissible for a Muslim to put his money in them, unless he cannot find an Islamic bank that does not deal in riba.
See the answer to question no. 22392.
We have also explained that commercial insurance in all forms is haraam, and that it is a modern form of gambling which is forbidden in Islam. See the answer to question no. 36955.
Secondly:
It is obligatory to pay zakaah on cash if it reaches the nisaab, which is the equivalent of 597 grams of silver, and one full year has passed since acquiring it, even if it is kept for household expenses and other essentials, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “If you have twenty dinars and one full year has passed (since acquiring them), then half a dinar is due on them, and whatever is more than that is to be calculated on that basis.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (1573) and classed as saheeh by al-Bukhaari; al-Tirmidhi narrated it from him in hisSunan(3/16) and it was classed as saeeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
It is not a condition of zakaah being obligatory that the money be surplus to one's needs, rather it is due from every nisaab when one full year has passed.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked, as it says inMajmoo’ al-Fataawa(18/177):
Is zakaah due on money saved from one's monthly salary when one full year has passed, despite the fact that it is not invested? Please note that I am saving it to cover my and my family’s living expenses. Is zakaah due in this case?
He replied:
Yes, zakaah is due on it if one full year has passed, because it is something that is subject to zakaah regardless of the use for which it is intended, and regardless of whether it is intended for trade or not. Hence zakaah is due on crops and grains even if a person does not intend to sell them, and even if a person has, for example, palm trees in his home and their yield reaches the nisaab and he has prepared them for his own use, zakaah is due from the crop of these palm trees. We say likewise about any crops etc on which zakaah is due. The same applies to livestock and flocks that graze in open land – zakaah is due on them, even if a person does not intend to sell them. The same applies to cash on which zakaah is due even if a person does not intend to use them for trade. The salary that you have set aside for expenses is subject to zakaah if one full year has passed and it reaches the nisaab. End quote.
And Allaah knows best.

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Conditions for Zakaah Being Obligatory, - Dought & clear, - * What isthe ruling on zakaah on saved money?

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I bought an apartment to live in, and it is being sold by instalments until the building is completed. I made the down payment and put the rest of the cost of the apartment in the bank. Is zakaah due on the saved money or not? What about the amount that I gave as a down payment?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If the conditions of zakaah being due are met with regard to this money, such as it reaching the nisaab and one full (hijri) year having passed since it was acquired, then zakaah must be paid on it, even if this money is being saved to meet a specific need such as accommodation, education or maintenance.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked inMajmoo’al-Fataawa(14/130):
I am saving money from my salary each month. Do I have to pay zakaah on this money, knowing that I am saving this money to build myself a house and to pay the dowry for my marriage soon, in sha Allaah, and I have been saving this money for several years in the bank because I have nowhere else to keep this money?
He replied:
Wealth that is being saved to get married, to build a home or for other purposes is subject to zakaah if it reaches the nisaab and one full year has passed, whether it is gold, silver or cash, because of the general meaning of the evidence which indicates that zakaah is obligatory on that which reaches the nisaab and one full year has passed, with no exceptions.
As for putting the money in riba-based banks, that is not permissible, because that is helping them in sin and transgression. But if that is done out of necessity, then it is permissible, but it should be without interest. End quote.
He was also asked inMajmoo’ al-Fataawa(14/126)
If a person is saving money with the aim of getting married, is it exempt from zakaah?
He replied (may Allaah have mercy on him):
Zakaah is not waived if one has the intention of getting married; the same applies to one who is collecting money to pay off a debt or to buy real estate to set up as a waqf or to buy a slave in order to set him free. Rather zakaah must be paid in all cases, if one year has passed since the money was collected, because Allaah, may He be glorified, has enjoined zakaah on the accumulated amount, and He has not stated that such purposes could mean that it is waived. Zakaah increases wealth and does not decrease it; it purifies it and purifies its owner, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it”
[al-Tawbah 9:103]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Wealth does not decrease because of charity.” Narrated by Muslim (2588). End quote.
InFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah(9/381) it says:
Zakaah is due on money that has been saved for building if one full year has passed and it reaches the nisaab by itself or when added to other wealth that is subject to zakaah, such as cash or trade goods. End quote.
This was stated by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) in his fatwas, and we have quoted his fatwa in the answer to question no. 41805.
The most correct of the scholarly views is that zakaah must be paid on the wealth of one who owes a debt, and the one who is paying a debt in instalments, because a debt for which payment has been deferred does not mean that zakaah is waived on the wealth that is being saved if it reaches the nisaab, because zakaah is an act of worship that is required of the one who has wealth, based on the general meaning of the verses and ahaadeeth which enjoin paying zakaah. This has been discussed in detail in the answer to question no. 22426.
Based on this, you have to pay zakaah on the money that has been saved. As for the money which you gave as a down payment to buy the house, you do not have to pay zakaah on it because it is no longer in your possession since you gave it to the seller.
And Allaah knows best.

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Conditions for Zakaah Being Obligatory, - Dought & clear, - * He has some money for university expenses and one full hijri year has passed – does he have to pay zakaah on it?

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I am a Master’s student and I am paying for my studies from my own pocket. My father gave me some money to use for my studies, and I am living on it, and my studies will take approximately two years. My question is about the money that my father gave me: when one year has passed on what is left of it, do I have to pay zakaah on it? Please note that this money is not enough for me to complete my studies and I am going to ask my father for more money.
Praise be to Allaah.
If the money that you have left reaches the nisaab, and one year has passed, then it is subject to zakaah, even if it is being kept for your living expenses or study fees, because of the general meaning of the evidence that indicates that zakaah becomes obligatory when the conditions for it are met.
The nisaab is the equivalent of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver, and the rate that must be paid is 2.5%, which is a small amount, praise be to Allaah, in addition to the blessing and growth that it brings to the one who pays zakaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allaah for them. Verily, your invocations are a source of security for them; and Allaah is All-Hearer, All-Knower”
[al-Tawbah 9:103]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Charity does not decrease wealth.” Narrated by Muslim (2588).
And Allaah knows best.

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Fasting, - Doupht&clear, - * She did not fast because she was worried about her nursing baby

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A woman gave birth in Ramadaan and did not make up her missed fasts after Ramadaan because she was worried about her nursing baby. Then she got pregnant and gave birth in the following Ramadaan. Is it permissible for her to give charity instead of fasting?
Praise be to Allaah.
What this woman has to do is to fast and make up the days she has missed, even if it is after the second Ramadaan, because she had an excuse not to make up the days she had missed between the first Ramadaan and the second. I wonder whether it will be too difficult for her to fast day after day in the winter even though she is still breastfeeding, but probably Allaah will give her the strength to make up the second Ramadaan. If she is not able to do that then it is OK for her to delay making it up until the second Ramadaan.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn U'themeen

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