How Do I Have to Pay Zakat When Wealth Accumulates?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
If I had $7,000 last year and now have $10,000, do I pay zakat on $17,000 or just the current amount?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
In the Hanafi school, zakat is due on your current zakatable wealth at the time your zakat anniversary (hawl) arrives, not on the amount you’ve earned or accumulated over time. [Maydani, al-Lubab]
In your case:
If you still possess the $7,000 from last year, and your total zakatable wealth is now $10,000 and a full lunar year (354 days) has passed since your zakat became obligatory. Then you pay zakat on the current amount you own, which is $10,000, not on the sum of $7,000 + $10,000 = $17,000.
Zakat is not calculated based on how much you’ve earned or accumulated, but on how much you possess at the end of your zakat year.
How Much to Pay
Zakat=2.5% of 10,000=250$
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) has said:
“There is no zakat on wealth until a year has passed over it.” [Ahmad]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
