I heard that paying zakat in Ramadan is better than paying it in any other month. Is this correct? What is the evidence for that? Please note that the time when zakat becomes due may be before or after Ramadan.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly: When a full hijri year has passed and zakat becomes due, it must be paid, unless it is the zakat of agricultural crops, which must be paid on the day of harvesting, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“but pay the due thereof (their Zakat, according to Allah’s Orders, 1/10th or 1/20th) on the day of their harvest”
[al-An’aam 6:141]
Zakat must be paid as soon as one full hijri year has passed, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Race with one another in hastening towards forgiveness from your Lord (Allah), and Paradise the width whereof is as the width of the heaven and the earth”
[al-Hadeed 57:21]
Ibn Battaal said:
One should hasten to do good, for things change, death could come at any time, and delaying is not good.
Ibn Hajar said: Someone else added:
It is better in order to free oneself from blame and help others, more pleasing to the Lord and more likely to erase sin.
Fath al-Baari, 3/299.
Secondly: it is not permissible to delay paying zakat after it has become due, unless one has a valid excuse.
Thirdly: it is permissible to pay zakat before it is due, by way of hastening it.
Hastening zakat means paying the zakat of two years or less, before it is due.
It was narrated from ‘Ali that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked al-‘Abbaas to pay zakat two years in advance.
(Narrated by Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Sallaam in al-Amwaal, 1885. Al-Albaani said in al-Irwa’ (3/346): it is hasan)
According to another report:
It was narrated from ‘Ali that al-‘Abbaas asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about paying his zakat before it was due, and he allowed him to do that. (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 673; Abu Dawood, 1624; Ibn Maajah, 1795; classed as saheeh by Shaykh Ahmad Shaakir in Tahqeeq al-Musnad, 822).
Fourthly: Giving charity to people is better in Ramadan than in any other month.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous during Ramadan, when Jibreel met him. Jibreel used to meet with him every night and teach him the Qur’aan. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the most generous person, even more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds).” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6; Muslim, 2308).
Al-Nawawi said: This hadeeth teaches us a number of things, including the fact that it is mustahabb to be generous during Ramadan.
So if a person’s zakat is due in Ramadan, or it is due after Ramadan but he pays it in advance during Ramadan in order to make the most of the virtue of paying it in Ramadan, there is nothing wrong with that. But if his zakat is due before Ramadan (for example, in Rajab), and he delays it so he can pay it in Ramadan, this is not permissible, because it is not permissible to delay zakat unless one has a valid excuse.
Fifthly: There may be some reasons why paying zakat at a time other than Ramadan is preferable to paying it during Ramadan, such as if there is a major disaster or famine in some Muslim country, then paying zakat at that time is preferable to paying it in Ramadan. Another example is if many people pay their zakat during Ramadan to meet the needs of the poor, then the poor have no one to feed them at times other than Ramadan; in this case paying it at a time other than Ramadan is preferable, even if that leads to delaying zakat, out of consideration for the needs of the poor.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthyameen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is permissible to delay zakat if that is in the interests of the poor and will not cause them harm. For example, in our country many people pay zakat in Ramadan and this gives the poor what they need or more than they need, but then during the winter, if that does not coincide with Ramadan, they will be in greater need and there are few people paying zakat. In that case it is permissible to delay zakat because that is in the interests of those who are entitled to it.
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