Zakaat

What is considered as Hawaaij-e-asliyyah?

Q: A person has only R1000 in cash but he has 7 cars. He uses one every day of the week.

Does he have to pay sadaqatul fitr, make Qurbani, and cannot receive zakaat because of these cars? He is using them however.

In Behishti Zewar the same type of thing is mentioned for furniture and clothing etc., that as long as he is using the clothes and furniture it will be considered to be from his needs. Does it matter if he has 100 pairs of clothing and 100 cupboards, 10 cars, but uses them? Will this still be considered as his needs, and thus can still accept zakaat? Or do we look at the fact that he only needs one car actually, thus the rest will be above his basic needs.

This would then mean we would have to say the same for clothing and furniture. Or is it correct to say that as long as he uses the items regularly then they will be classified as his needs, no matter how many cars etc he has. If so, How regularly would he need to use the items?

Zakaat on savings

Q: My question is related to zakat. If a divorced women with one dependant child is not working, and has a saving for her daughter's university education, does zakat apply on that amount of savings? Is this woman, who has no support, liable to pay zakat?

Giving jewellery to one's children to avoid paying zakaat

Q: I was told to use the below fatwa as a hilah to avoid giving zakat on jewellery, however the jewellery gift by us to our own child is the same that we wish to give them on their marriage. The questions are: 

1. Is this hilah genuine?

2. Allah forbid, if the future becomes difficult and the jewellery is sold for survival before the child's marriage, what should be done?

Fatwa:

It is permissible for parents to accept on behalf of their minor children. Hence, if a minor girl's mother accepts jewellery on her behalf, she will become the owner of the jewellery, regardless of whether her mother informed her about it or not. After she becomes baaligh, zakaat will be compulsory upon the jewellery. If she did not have knowledge of her mother's accepting the jewellery for her, then at the time she comes to know, she will have to discharge the zakaat for every year from the time of puberty till the present year.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by: Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved: Mufti Ebrahim Salejee