Zakaat on debts
| Fatwa #2213 | Category: Zakaat & Sadaqah | Country: Zambia | Date: 4th March 2026 |
| Fatwa #2213 | Date: 4th March 2026 |
| Category: Zakaat & Sadaqah | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
As-salamu alaykum
Hope you’re well. I have a zakat query and would appreciate your guidance.
As is my practice, I calculate and pay my zakat every Ramadhan. Last year, prior to Ramadhan, I had taken on a significant financial obligation to assist someone close to me who was facing serious debt. I had committed to helping repay this amount through ongoing contributions.
At the time of calculating my zakat in Ramadhan, this obligation exceeded my available assets. Based on my understanding, I therefore considered myself not zakat-eligible and did not pay zakat for that year.
Several months later, we reassessed the situation with the creditor. By that point, a substantial portion had already been repaid. It was then agreed that the remaining balance could be settled gradually over an extended period, without urgency or immediate pressure. Previously, the expectation had been that the debt needed to be cleared as quickly as possible.
From what I understand, if a debt is not immediately due or does not have a fixed short-term repayment demand, it may not fully offset one’s zakatable assets. After reflecting on this change in circumstances, I recalculated my zakat position for that past year excluding the full outstanding obligation, and it appeared that I may in fact have been zakat-eligible.
My question is: in this situation, am I required to now pay zakat for that past year, given that at the time I genuinely believed the debt made me ineligible, but the repayment terms later changed?
JazakAllah.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
There is no need for concern. You acted and calculated correctly. Zakat was not due on you last year nor will you have to pay Zakat for the past year.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia