When may crop zakah be paid before it becomes due?
2026-10-13
T150 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete source question and answer
Complete original question and answer, 25/85–86. The answer permits advance payment only after the relevant cause of liability exists; it distinguishes that point from the time payment becomes obligatory.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
وسئل شيخ الإسلام عن المسكين يحتاج إلى الزكاة من الزرع، فهل إعطاؤه يسقط الفرض عن صاحب الزرع، إذا عجلها له قبل إدراك زرعه أم لا؟
الجواب
وأما تعجيل الزكاة قبل وجوبها بعد سبب الوجوب، فيجوز عند جمهور العلماء، كأبي حنيفة والشافعي وأحمد، فيجوز تعجيل زكاة الماشية والنقدين وعروض التجارة إذا ملك النصاب.
ويجوز: تعجيل المعشرات قبل وجوبها إذا كان قد طلع الثمر قبل بدو صلاحه، ونبت الزرع قبل اشتداد الحب.
فأما إذا اشتد الحب وبدا صلاح الثمرة؛ وجبت الزكاة.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Shaykh al-Islām was asked about a needy person who requires zakah from a crop: if the crop's owner gives it to him in advance, before his crop matures, does that discharge the owner's obligation?
Answer
Paying zakah in advance, before it becomes due but after the cause of its becoming due exists, is permissible according to the majority of scholars, including Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad. Thus the zakah on livestock, gold and silver, and trade goods may be paid in advance once one owns the minimum qualifying amount, the niṣāb.
The zakah on produce subject to the tithe may likewise be paid before it becomes due if the fruit has appeared, before signs of its ripeness, or the crop has sprouted, before the grain hardens.
Once the grain has hardened and the fruit has shown signs of ripeness, the zakah has become due.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 25/85–86
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic question and complete answer collated with the cited source text and its adjacent question boundaries. Arabic diacritics omitted, display marks removed and honorific glyphs expanded. Browsing headings and scope notes are editorial.