Fatwa #4395321 December 2019Pakistan
Zakat on obsolete currency. Do i pay for it after forgetting about it?
Question
How are you moulana?
Sorry to trouble
I have a question pertaining to zakaat.
I became baaligh at the age of 12 in the year 2012.
At the time when I became baaligh, I had in my possession foreign currency which became obsolete in 1999. This foreign currency can be converted to the country's new currency based on the current rate( I checked on google).
Was this obsolete foreign currency part of my zaakatable wealth, and if so, how do I pay the zakaat for it for the past 8 years that I had forgotten about it?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In principle, Zakaat is wajib (compulsory) upon a person who possesses the amount of Nisab (87.479 g of gold or 612.35 g of silver), over and above ones basic needs and after fulfilling ones debts, upon the completion of one lunar year.[i]
In the enquired scenario, the obsolete currency will be part of your Zakatable assets as it holds value.
If Zakat was compulsory upon you for the past 8 years, then calculate as follows:
1. Determine the value of the obsolete currency each year
2. Give 2.5% of the value in Zakat for each year
3. Subtract 2.5% from obsolete currency from the second year onwards each year
4. Repeat this procedure for all the years Zakat was not paid
Example, if one you have 1000 of the obsolete currency then you will pay as follows:
1st year - Calculate the value of 1000 obsolete currency and give 2.5% in Zakat
2nd year - Calculate the value of 975 obsolete currency and give 2.5% in Zakat
Continue this process for all 8 years and pay Zakat accordingly.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
______
[i] مختصر القدوري (ص: 51)
3 - كتاب الزكاة
الزكاة: واجبة على الحر المسلم البالغ العاقل إذا ملك نصابا ملكا تاما وحال عليه الحول وليس على صبي ولا مجنون وال مكاتب زكاة
ومن كان عليه دين يحيط فلا زكاة عليه
وإن كان ماله أكثر من الدين زكى الفاضل إذا بلغ نصابا وليس في دور السكنى وثياب البدن وأثاث المنازل ودواب الركوب وعبيد الخدمة وسلاح الاستعمال زكاة
كنز الدقائق (ص: 210)
وتضمّ قيمة العروض إلى الثّمنين والذّهب إلى الفضّة قيمةً
الجوهرة النيرة على مختصر القدوري (1/ 125)
(قوله وتضم قيمة العروض إلى الذهب والفضة) وكذا يضم بعضها إلى بعض وإن اختلف أجناسها