Question: I have given up this line of work, yet some people still owe me money. May I simply leave those sums with them and count them as my zakat, or not? Please advise me; may Allah bless you.

Answer: Writing off debts does not discharge the zakat that is due on the wealth you currently possess. The money that is in your hands must be purified by zakat; you must take its zakat either from that money itself or from other funds that come to you.

As for the outstanding debts, their zakat remains attached to them. If the debts are owed by people who are solvent and willing to repay, you must include them in your zakat calculation every year, whether you actually receive the money or not. If, however, the debts are owed by people who are insolvent and you fear you may never recover the money, then you are not required to pay zakat on them until you do receive them; when you finally collect, you pay zakat on that amount for one single year.

Question: What if I agree with this solvent debtor that he will pay the zakat on that amount on my behalf—would that be valid?

Answer: That is not enough; the person who must calculate and pay the zakat is the owner of the wealth.

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Zakat on employees’ salaries

Question: How is zakat calculated on money that increases every month from an employee’s salary? A full lunar year may pass while he has in his possession an amount on which zakat is due, yet part of that amount has not completed the year. What should he do in that case?

Answer: If you designate a particular month of the year—Ramadan, for example—in which you pay zakat on all the money that has accumulated with you, that is commendable. You then pay zakat on whatever you have: for the portions that have completed their lunar year, the zakat will have been paid in