has specified the avenues of zakat for eight categories; therefore, distribution must be confined to what Allah has laid down and it is not permissible to add anything beyond that. Settling the debt of a deceased person, it seems, does not fall under those categories, and this is one of the two scholarly views.

The second view—reported from Imām Ahmad and endorsed by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah—maintains that it is permissible to pay a deceased person’s debt out of zakat. Nevertheless, whenever the debt can be covered from sources other than zakat, that is safer and better. Allah knows best.

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Zakat on money that has reached the nisab and one lunar year has passed

Question: I work in Iraq and receive a monthly salary. I share one household with my father—that is, my wife, my children, and I all live with him. In these circumstances, am I required to pay zakat, and if so, how much? Please note that I have children.

Answer: It is well known that anyone who possesses money that has reached the nisab (minimum taxable threshold) and over which a full lunar year has elapsed must pay zakat on it, whether the funds come from a salary or from some other source. The rate of zakat is one quarter of one tenth, i.e., 2.5%. Allah, Exalted is He, knows best.

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Question: A group of women and I have put together a sum of money to build a house because we currently live in rented accommodation and have no one to support us. Is zakat due on this amount, and if so, how should it be paid?

Answer: Yes. If you have accumulated dirhams that have reached the nisab or more and a full lunar year has passed