Question: I took out a life insurance policy, and I pay insurance premiums every year. After 20 years, I will receive either a lump sum of money or monthly payments. When I receive a lump sum, will I have to give zakat for previous years by calculating each year or will I have to give zakat on the lump sum only for that year? I took out life insurance policies for my wife and children as well. What is the ruling for them?
ANSWER
The money deducted by insurance companies or the deductions for savings bonds are not included in the calculation of zakat. When it is received years later, only the money received is added to the basic amount for that year’s zakat. The case is not so with the bonds taken in exchange for what is sold. These and stocks and securities are included in the calculation of zakat every year. (Se’adet-i Ebediyye)

The same thing applies to your wife and children. However, if the premiums you pay for your wife and children belong to them, that is, if you pay them from their own money or if you donate them to them, then it is they who must give zakat. If the money belongs to you, then it is you who must give zakat. It is of no account whether the insurance policy is in the name of them.

Question: I have clothes and scarves exceeding what is necessary, but I do not have anything else. Do I have to give zakat?
ANSWER
Even if you had a room full of clothes and scarves, zakat is not due on them because they are not trade goods. However, they are included in the nisab of qurban. That is, after deducting your debts, if you have clothes and scarves as many as to buy 96 grams of gold, then it is wajib on you to perform qurban and to give fitrah. Three sets of clothes and three scarves are exempted. However, you should calculate the price of your clothes not based on market value but based on their prices in a flea market. Therefore, no matter how many clothes you have, it is difficult for them to reach nisab.

Question: My zakat, together with our fitrah, costs a quarter gold coin. Can I give a quarter gold coin (in Turkey) for both my zakat and our fitrah?
ANSWER
Yes, you can.

Question: I do not have money. Can I pay my zakat by installments?
ANSWER
Yes, you can.

Question: How should I give the zakat of a silver tray weighing 2 kilograms?
ANSWER
One-fortieth of it, that is, 50 grams of silver, is given to a poor Muslim.

Question: Must zakat given be transferred to the hands of a poor person or his proxy?
ANSWER
Yes, it must.

Question: Is it better to give zakat more than what is due?
ANSWER
Of course, it is better.

Question: Is it valid to put a gold coin as zakat in a gift-wrapping and give it to a poor person?
ANSWER
It is not valid. However, if the poor person sees the gold coin in it and asks about it and if you explain him that it is a gift, it will be valid, but makruh.

Question: Is zakat due on the money given to a housing cooperative for home ownership?
ANSWER
Zakat is not due on it as the money has come out of your possession.

Question: Can a person who will become poor when giving zakat receive zakat before his zakat due date comes?
ANSWER
He can receive zakat on the day when he does not own nisab of qurban.

Question: If I buy gold with the paper money given to me as zakat, will the donor’s zakat be valid?
ANSWER
Yes, it will be valid.

Question: I am rich and I did not know this fact. Someone gave me zakat. What should I do this zakat?
ANSWER
You must give it to a poor person.

Question: I gave zakat to a poor person, and he gave it to me as a gift. Is it sinful if I do not give poor people money as much as its equivalent?
ANSWER
It is makruh tanzihi.

Question: Is it permissible to buy the gold that I gave to a poor person as zakat cheaper than its market value?
ANSWER
It is makruh.

Question: If a house, a piece of land, or a car is bought with the intention of selling it later when it gains value, is it included in nisab?
ANSWER
No, it is not considered trade goods.

Question: Does a man who has 200 grams of gold but also has 150 grams of debts of mahr have to give zakat?
ANSWER
No, he does not.

Question: Is it necessary to borrow money to pay the debt of zakat?
ANSWER
No, it is not necessary.

Question: Is it permissible to receive zakat when one’s money drops below nisab?
ANSWER
One cannot receive zakat if one possesses the nisab of qurban.

Question: If one does not possess nisab but has stores and apartments, can one receive zakat?
ANSWER
No, one cannot.

Question: Is it permissible to give a poor person a piece of gold as zakat and to say, “Take five grams of it, and the remainder is mine”?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is zakat given on a silver tray weighing more than 672 grams?
ANSWER
Yes, it is given.

Question: On the day when I possessed nisab, I spent half of it. Am I considered rich?
ANSWER
No, you are not.

Question: Does a rich child have to give zakat for the years he/she was not pubescent?
ANSWER
No, he/she does not.

Question: How should the zakat on a property not shared yet be given?
ANSWER
It is given either immediately or later.

Question: In order to calculate nisab, should we calculate currency we have, based on buying or selling price? Likewise, while calculating how much 96 grams of gold is worth in Turkish liras, should we take selling or buying price into account?
ANSWER
The selling price of a goldsmith is taken into account. When changing dollars we have, the buying price of an exchange broker is taken into account.

Question: How should a person who has debts of zakat 10 years ago pay zakat? If one knows how much money one had then, should one take the then-gold prices into account?
ANSWER
The amount of gold that one could buy with that money 10 years ago is taken into account.

Question: Can one give zakat and fitrah to the same person? Can zakat be shared between several people?
ANSWER
The answer to both questions is yes.

Question: Is a silver tray included in nisab?
ANSWER
All silver and gold things are included in nisab.

Question: Should a child who possesses nisab but has not reached sanity and puberty give zakat?
ANSWER
He/she does not give zakat unless he/she has reached puberty.

Question: If one has had 100 grams of gold for 20 years and has learnt quite recently the fact that one has to pay zakat on it, how much zakat does one have to give?
ANSWER
First, one has to pay 2,5 % on 100 grams of gold retrospectively for the first year of 20 years. For the second year of 20 years, one has to pay 2,5 % on the remainder. As it remains below 96 grams after two years, zakat is not given on the remainder anymore.

Question: Are donations we make to the ill or charitable organizations counted as zakat?
ANSWER
No, they are not counted as zakat. There is a method of giving zakat, so one must give it accordingly.

Question: Does a Muslim who does not perform salat or fast in Ramadan have to give zakat?
ANSWER
Of course, he/she has to give zakat. He/she should not eschew zakat thinking he/she does not perform salat or fast in Ramadan. He/she must try to extricate himself/herself from one sin at least.

Question: I said to a friend of mine, “Give these gold coins to so-and-so.” My friend gave his own gold coins instead of mine. Is there anything wrong with this?
ANSWER
If a proxy gives a poor person his own gold coins instead of the rich one’s gold coins and then he himself makes uses of the ones the rich person gave, it is permissible. However, it is not permissible to make use of the gold coins of the rich person first and then to give zakat out of his own money.

Question: Should a rich person who will go on hajj this year give zakat on the money he has set aside for hajj?
ANSWER
Zakat due time is different for everyone. One whose zakat due date is before the time of hajj, say in Ramadan, has to give zakat first and then goes on hajj with the remaining money. One whose zakat due date is after the time of hajj, say in Muharram, must go on hajj first and then gives zakat on the remaining money when due date comes.

Question: Can one who presented gold coins to a poor bride deem them later as one’s zakat?
ANSWER
One can deem them as one’s zakat as long as the gold coins are in the possession of the poor bride. If she has spent them, they cannot be deemed as zakat anymore.

Question: If gold that exceeds nisab is lost and found after seven years, is it necessary to give zakat on it for previous years?
ANSWER
If something lost is found, zakat is not given on it for previous years. (Se’adet-i Ebediyye)

Question: Can my elder sister who got married to a man who has two sons deem the gold she will present to her stepchildren at their circumcision party as her zakat?
ANSWER
She can deem it as her zakat if their father is not rich because it is permissible to give zakat to one’s stepchildren.

Question: In order not to upset the poor person, can one give zakat by saying, “It is my debt to you” thinking that zakat is the right of the poor?
ANSWER
No, it is not permissible. It is permissible if one says “It is my gift to you.”

Question: My rich grandfather has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Do we have to give zakat on his wealth?
ANSWER
It must be given in the other three madhhabs, but in the Hanafi Madhhab, zakat is not given on the wealth of a child or an insane person.

When one with Alzheimer’s losses mental functions, one is considered an insane person. In this case, one is not obligated to perform zakat, salat, or fast. One’s wali does not have to give zakat on one’s wealth. When one with Alzheimer's has mental functions, one has to perform salat and fast. One is not sinful if one breaks salat or fast when one losses one’s mental functions. If one has mental functions such that one knows zakat, one has to give zakat. If one has mental functions at Eid al-Adha and tells others to sacrifice an animal, an animal must be sacrificed for one.