Question:
Scholars of Islam, As-Salamu `alaykum. What should happen if Zakaah is lost before being distributed? Should the owner pay it again?
Respond:
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thanks for your question, which emanates from a God-fearing heart, since it shows your commitment to Zaakah, one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, �Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayer, paying the Zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.� (Reported by Al-Bukhari). Also, we�d like to commend your pursuit of Islamic counseling.

In fact, your question is a serious one due to the importance of Zaakah in Shari`ah. As soon as it is due on one's wealth, that portion of the wealth belongs to the poor who are to be considered its rightful owner. One, therefore, should not feel comfortable with any amount of Zaakah that has not been distributed. If Zakah is lost before its distribution, its owner should pay it again if the delay of its payment was due to negligence on his part.

"It is agreed that if Zakah is delayed until after the harvest is finished and subsequently the harvest is damaged before Zaakah is paid on it, then that does not absolve the owner of the crop from paying what is due and he must pay based on the original harvest.

According to some scholars, Zakah remains due, whether the loss occurred is due to negligence or not. In that case Zaakah becomes a debt that must be paid even if the owner does not have sufficient money to pay it. According to this opinion, even if one sets aside the Zaakah and then it is lost, the obligation to pay remains since it is still the responsibility of the Zaakah payer to disburse it. This is the opinion of Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq who quotes the following report narrated by Ibn Hazm:

"Whoever sets aside Zaakah from his property and then it is lost, his obligation to pay Zaakah remains to be fulfilled, and he must set it aside again."

According to other jurists, liability to pay Zaakah remains in case of loss or damage of the due amount to be paid, only if the delay of payment was due to negligence and not to any valid and justifiable cause."

Quoted, with slight modifications, from: Mushfiqur Rahman, Zaakah Calculation, published by The Islamic Foundation.

Allah Almighty knows best.


Responded by: A Group of Islamic Researchers