Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/24)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

Moreover, this argument is refuted by the fact that maintenance is obligatory from the property of both of them. Thus, if an insane person, for example, had children, a wife, and a father, their maintenance would be obligatory from his wealth, even though it diminishes it.

If someone were to say: If you maintain that zakah is part of dealing with wealth in the best manner, then voluntary charity is likewise part of dealing with it in the best manner. Would you then permit charity to be given from the property of an orphan or an insane person?

The answer is: No, because voluntary charity is purely a donation, and one does not incur liability by failing to give it. Zakah, however, is an obligatory duty, and one incurs liability by failing to pay it.

For this reason, if the cost of living rose so that a linen garment cost 100 riyals while a garment of coarse cloth cost 10 riyals, we would buy him linen garments, because that is what is customary. If this is the case, then zakah has even greater priority to be paid from the orphan’s property, for it is more warranted than spending from his wealth on a garment for him to wear.

“Whoever has a debt or a right—such as a bridal due or otherwise—owed to him by a solvent person or anyone else, should pay its zakah when he receives it, for the preceding years, ...”

His statement, “Whoever has a debt”: a debt is an obligation established in a person’s liability, arising from a loan, the price of something sold, rent, or the like.

His statement, “or a right”: that is, a financial right, thereby excluding non-financial rights. I have not found the phrase “or a right” in any other source. It appears to me that if the right is established, then it is a debt; and if it is not established, then no zakah is due on it at all. This is why the wording of al-Iqnaʿ and al-Muntaha does not contain the word “right.”

His statement, “such as a bridal due”: the bridal due belongs to the wife, and it is what the husband gives the woman in the marriage contract. It was specifically mentioned because part of the bridal due may be forfeited: if the husband divorces her before consummation, half of it is forfeited; and all of it may be forfeited if the separation occurs on her part before consummation.

ثم إنه منقوض بوجوب النفقة عليهما فلو كان للمجنون ـ مثلاً ـ أولاد وزوجة وأب لوجبت النفقة لهم في ماله مع أنها تنقصه. فإن قال قائل: إذا قلتم: إن الزكاة من الأحسن فالصدقة أيضاً من الأحسن، فهل تجيزون أن يتصدق بمال اليتيم والمجنون؟ فالجواب: لا؛ لأن الصدقة محض تبرع لا تنشغل الذمة بتركها، والزكاة فريضة تنشغل الذمة بتركها. ولهذا لو غلت مواد الإنفاق، وصار ثوب الكتان قيمته (١٠٠) ريال والثوب من الخيش قيمته (١٠) ريالات. فنشتري له ثياب كتان؛ لأن هذا هو المعتاد، فإذا كان كذلك فنقول: الزكاة من باب أولى أن نخرجها من مال اليتيم؛ لأنها أبلغ من أن يخرج من ماله لثوب يلبسه. وَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ دَيْنٌ أَوْ حَقٌّ مِنْ صَدَاقٍ وَغَيْرِهِ عَلَى مَلِيءٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ أَدَّى زَكَاتَهُ إِذَا قَبَضَهُ لِمَا مَضَى، ......... قوله: «ومن كان له دين» الدين: ما ثبت في الذمة من قرض، وثمن مبيع، وأجرة، وغير ذلك. قوله: «أو حق» أي: الحق المالي فخرج بذلك الحق غير المالي، وقوله: «أو حق» لم أقف عليها عند غيره، والذي يظهر لي أن الحق إن كان ثابتاً فهو دين، وإن كان غير ثابت فلا زكاة فيه أصلاً، ولهذا عبارة الإقناع والمنتهى ليس فيها كلمة حق. قوله: «من صداق» الصداق للزوجة، وهو ما يبذله الزوج للمرأة في عقد النكاح وإنما نص عليه؛ لأن الصداق قد يسقط بعضه، فإنه إذا طلقها الزوج قبل الدخول سقط النصف، وقد يسقط كله إذا كانت الفرقة من قبلها قبل الدخول.