Is Zakah Payable Every Year? - Hazrat Sultan Qadri, Lucknow

[Dr. Shabbir]

Is Zakah Payable Every Year?



Q. I read an article in a magazine that as from the second year, zakah is payable only on the incremental property that one has acquired during the year. Thus, if one paid zakah on an amount of, say, 100,000 the first year, and he finds himself with 130,000 the next year, he pays only for 30,000. Should his property become 200,000 the following year, he pays for 70,000 only. Is this correct?



A. No, it is not correct. Zakah is payable for the total of one's property every year, provided one continues to have an amount that is in excess of the threshold of zakah over and above what he needs for his own and his family's living. The threshold, or nisab, is the equivalent of 85 grams of gold, not jewelry. When anyone, man or woman, young or old, own this threshold, they become zakah payers. They should mark the date and then every year, on the same date, they calculate what they have in excess of their immediate living needs. They pay zakah on the total. The normal rate is 2.5%. Thus, in the example given by the reader, the person concerned needs to pay zakah for 100,000 the first year, 130,000 the second year and the total of 200,000 the third year. This makes his liability 2500 for the first year, 3250 for the second, and 5000 for the third. This is easily affordable by anyone who owns such amounts of money.



People often find it difficult to pay zakah, treating it as a form of tax. It is not a tax. Zakah is an act of worship that brings rich reward from God and benefits the individual paying it and the one receiving it as well as the community as a whole. The one who pays it purifies his money, receives God's reward and purges himself of the feelings of selfishness and greed associated with wealth. The one who receives it is helped to overcome his difficult life conditions and the community benefits by the feelings of mutual solidarity and social security that the payment of zakah achieves.



As stated above, the normal rate in most types of money is 2.5%. However, certain types have a different rate. An agricultural land that needs little attention, and is irrigated by rainwater only, pays 10% of its net produce, while land irrigated by a mixture of rainwater and machines pays 5% of its produce. Likewise, for investments in shares and stocks, which require no effort on the part of the investor, the rate is 10% of the income received. The capital invested in such shares and stocks is not liable to zakah. It should be pointed out, however, that such payment should be made on the day the land is harvested or the dividend is paid.