Is Zakat paid on a local initiative where money is collected to be distributed to needy local individuals?

Q: Is Zakat paid on a local initiative where money is collected to be distributed to needy local individuals? Two brothers run a small initiative, whereby people give monthly donations (usually £10) which goes into a separate account for that specific purpose/initiative. This money is then distributed to local people (by the 2 brothers) who are […]

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Who is liable to pay the Zakat for a limited company?

  Q: Is a limited company an independent entity in Islam and therefore liable for its own Zakat or does its value belong to the shareholders? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: The liability to pay zakat falls on the shareholders and not the company itself. If taxes have been incurred on the zakat […]

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Is it permissible to give to charities who fund military arms or tobacco investments?

Q: Is it permissible to give charity to organisations if one knows they are funding military arms and tobacco investment? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: Military armaments can be both permissible and impermissible depending on the situation at hand.  In fact, they can even be an obligation such as when needed for […]

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Is it permissible for Zakat funds to be spent on non-Muslim beneficiaries?

Q: Is it permissible for Zakat funds to be spent on non-Muslim beneficiaries? Can they be considered mu’allafati quloobuhum in this context? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: The category of “those whose hearts have to be reconciled” mentioned in Verse 60 of Surah Al-Tawbah refers to various groups of poor [according to […]

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Is one regarded as sinful for delaying the paying of zakat to such an extent that a year passes?

Q: My zakat is calculated yearly on 16th Sha’ban. This year for example, it was £500. My habit is to split the £500 into 11 monthly payments. My aim is to pay the zakat £500 before the next years Sha’ban. However, sometimes I budget and maybe miss a few months. Thus for example by 16th […]

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Is Zakat liable on invoices not issued yet?

Q:  We have annual contracts signed in advance with our customers to provide service support for the year. Invoice is sent out each month. Is zakat liable on the months in advance, even though invoices have not been sent and service not provided yet? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب   A: There is […]

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Do I have to pay zakah on money that I have only had in my possession for 2 months?

Q: Do I have to pay zakāh on money that I have only had in my possession for 2 months? I am a retired government servant and receive a pension. Besides this, the only other source of my income is rent I receive from a house. I live in another house which I own. I […]

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What should a charity do with interest (riba), and income generated from interest, that it receives?

Q: What should a charity do with interest (riba), and income generated from interest, that it receives? Our charity receives Haram Interest from individuals & business. Whilst that is sitting in the charity’s Islamic bank accounts what is the status of the (halal) return generated? Does it have the same restrictions as the Interest capital? […]

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Is the responsibility of Zakāt a strictly individual responsibility or can it be joint say in the case of husbands and wives?

  Q: Is the responsibility of Zakāt a strictly individual responsibility or can it be joint say in the case of husbands and wives? Most spouses would have joint finances and liabilities or would treat theirs as such. الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: Zakāt is strictly a personal obligation.  Even in jointly […]

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Is it permissible to use Zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects?

Q: Is it permissible to use Zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: It is not permissible to use zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects as none of these avenues satisfy the requirement of proprietary transfer […]

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Do I pay zakah on an investment from which I get no return, but whose value rises?

Q: Do I pay zakāh on an investment from which I get no return, but whose value rises? I had about £51,300 on which I paid zakāh this year which left me with about £50,000. I then invested that £50,000 into a company. So now I own 5% percentage of that company. I am not […]

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