Is zakat farz on students? I do work, and i own a car, but i work to pay my tuition off. So is zakat farz on me?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
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this question:
Is
zakat farz on students? I do work, and i own a car, but i work to pay my
tuition off. So is zakat farz on me?
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Answer:
Zakah on students
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Every believer, regardless of whether man, woman, or
child, who has excess wealth (over the ‘nisaab which is appx US$1,000.00) of
their own, is liable to pay a 2.5% annual zakat of their nett excess wealth in
Shariah.
Zakat is not determined from one’s earnings or profits,
but rather on one’s net excess wealth which is left over after paying all their
expenses, and it has been in their possession for a period of one calendar
year. There is no zakah liable on the house one lives in, or the furniture and
fixture one uses in their house, or the car one drives, etc. But if one has property which one has bought
as an investment, or spare vehicles other the one one drives, or jewelry, or
any other excess asset…then zakah would be liable on these excess wealth and
property.
Any asset, or wealth, or cash, or savings, which are left
over after all of one’s expenses are paid, and that excess savings and wealth
has been in their possession for one full calendar year is liable for payment
of annual ‘zakat’ at 2.5% of its value.
Thus the basic formula to calculate zakah is as follows:
All Assets (except the house one lives in, vehicle one
uses, etc.) minus all loans = Nett Excess Assets. It is on the market value of these Nett
Excess Assets upon which the annual zakah of 2.5% is due.
Your Question: IS
ZAKAT FARZ ON STUDENTS? I DO WORK, AND I OWN A CAR, BUT I WORK TO PAY MY
TUITION OFF. SO IS ZAKAT FARZ ON ME?
Zakah is not due on your earnings, nor on the car that you
yourself drive, nor on your expenses, but rather on your Nett Excess
Assets.
Thus assuming that you have absolutely no other assets
than the car you drive (which is exempt from zakah), and the earnings you earn
from work all goes into paying your expenses (rent, tuition, food, clothing,
etc.), and at the end of the year you are left with US$800.00; then you are not
liable to pay any zakah for your Nett Worth is below the prescribed ‘nisaab’ of
US$1,000.00.
But if after paying all your expenses, you are left with
more than US$1,000.00 in the bank, and that amount has been in your possession
for one full calendar year…only then would you be liable to pay 2.5% of that
amount as your annual zakah for that year.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan