Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

dear brother burhan
assalamo alaikum

i keep receiving your articles. thank you so much. we learn from it so many things. i forward your mail to my folks and friends. they are also benefitting with your articles. may Allah bless you and prosper you. you are doing a great job.

my questions to you is:
i have one dozen expensive branded watches. Do i have to pay zakat for it? if yes how much?

at the moment my brother is jobless and is gone in depression. he is having a hard time to get the job and kook after his wife and kids as he has too much outstanding to pay. for example every month he has to pay for his house mortgage and car loan. when he was earning he was paying regularly. at present he doesnot have any bank balance. can i and my other brother and sisters help him by paying our zakat money to him. as other brother and sisters are also not very well to do to help him. we can only help him in the way by paying our zakat money. my question is is my brother allowed to take zakat money? is he entitled?
pls. reply me soon as ramadhan is approaching and his is really in need.
jazakallah
a sister in islam.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Is brother entitled to Zakat?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statement: i keep receiving your articles. thank you so much. we learn from it so many things. i forward your mail to my folks and friends. they are also benefitting with your articles. may Allah bless you and prosper you. you are doing a great job.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Your Question: i have one dozen expensive branded watches. Do i have to pay zakat for it? if yes how much?
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1558 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and she was accompanied by her daughter, who wore two heavy gold bangles in her hands. He (saws) said to her: ‘Do you pay zakat on them?’ She said: ‘No.’ He (saws) then said: ‘Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of Fire on your hands (on the Day of Judgment)?’ Thereupon she took them off and placed them before the Prophet (saws) saying: ‘They are for Allah and His Messenger (saws).’

Dear and Beloved sister in Islam, your ‘dozen expensive branded watches’ are definitely amongst your wealth, and the payment of zakah is obligatory upon their market value, provided you have them in your ownership and possession for a period of at least one calendar year.

Your Question: if yes how much?
The best way would be to put a market value on these watches by determining how much you would get if you tried to sell these watches today, and pay the zakah at a rate of 2.5% of that value.

Your Question: my question is is my brother allowed to take zakat money? is he entitled?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 60: Charity are for the poor, and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds), for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth), for those in bondage and in debt, in the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer. This (charity) is an obligatory commandment (fard) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.

In the above Aayah of Surah Taubah, the approved list for those eligible to receive ‘zakah’ funds are Decreed by the All Mighty Lord.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.17 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "The word 'Ar-Rahm (womb) derives its name from Ar-Rahman (i.e., one of the Names of Allah) and Allah said: 'I will keep good relation with the one who will keep good relation with you, (womb, i.e. kith and kin), and sever the relation with him who will sever the relation with you (womb, i.e. kith and kin).’

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.15 Narrated by Anas bin Malik

Allah 's Messenger (saws) said, "Whoever loves that he be granted more wealth and that his lease of life be prolonged, then he should keep good relations with his kith and kin."

To give the Zakah funds to the poor and needy is amongst the approved eligible ‘hadds’ of distribution of zakah; and one may give zakah to any believer who is not under the direct guardianship and responsibility of the person, ie.: a man cannot give zakah to his parents, or his wife, or his children who are his direct responsibility and under his guardianship.

If one’s own brother or sister or close relatives like uncles, and aunts, and cousins, etc. are poor and deserving, they have the biggest right to one’s zakah funds. One who gives Zakah funds to his deserving poor relatives who are not under their direct guardianship and responsibility, they will receive a two-fold reward for their zakah distribution; one for the zakah itself, and the other for helping the close relatives. If there is a situation where the wife is rich and her husband is poor and needy, the husband is the most deserving of her zakah funds.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Sadaqah for the poor is rewarded as one sadaqah, but in the case of a relative it is considered as two: [one reward for helping the] blood tie, and [the other reward for] the sadaqah [itself]."

Related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, and at-Tirmidhi.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.79

A poor husband is entitled to receive zakah from his well-to-do wife, even though she is not supposed to support him. Her reward for giving zakah to her husband is more than if she were to give it to strangers. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that Zainab, the wife of Ibn Mas'ud, said: "O Prophet of Allah! Indeed you have ordered us today to give away sadaqah, and I have some jewelry which I wanted to give away as sadaqah. But (my husband) Ibn Mas'ud claims that he and his children deserve it more than someone else." The Prophet (saws) responded: "Ibn Mas'ud is right. Your husband and your children are more deserving."

Related by al-Bukhari.

Not only can you give your zakah to your own brother, but amongst all the ‘hadds’ where zakah can be spent, the brother would be amongst the most deserving and entitled of receiving from your zakah funds distribution. Allah Subhanah has promised a more handsome reward for those who spend of their zakah or sadaqah funds on their relatives.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 177: It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; and to spend of your substance out of love for Allah for your kith and kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of Truth, the Allah-fearing.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan