Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Question — 0:00
Brother Abdur-Rahman emails asking: upon whom is Zakat due — the owner of the wealth, or the person responsible for the owner? Specifically, he asks whether a woman who has gold but does not work may have her husband pay the Zakat on her wealth, or whether she must pay it from her own wealth.
Zakat Is an Obligation on the Owner — 0:30
Yasir Qadhi explains: Zakat is an obligation due from the wealth to the poor. If the owner of the wealth is an adult of sound mind, then that owner is primarily responsible for paying it.
What About Incapacitated Owners? — 1:00
If the owner is not an adult of sound mind — for example, an orphaned child whose deceased father left them $100,000 — then the guardian of that child shall take the Zakat from the child's wealth (2.5%) and distribute it. The Zakat in this case comes from the orphan's property, not from the guardian's personal funds.
Voluntary Payment Is Permissible — 2:00
However, this obligation can be transferred voluntarily. For example, if a husband wishes to pay his wife's Zakat:
This is like any other gift — permissible and praiseworthy. Yasir Qadhi even says we expect a generous husband to do this if his wife has non-liquid assets (like gold jewelry) and no cash to sell them. But the Sharia does not require it of the husband.
Parenthetical: Zakat on Gold Jewelry — 3:00
Yasir Qadhi pauses to note that Zakat on a woman's personal gold jewelry is itself one of the most hotly debated topics in all of Zakat jurisprudence, going back to the time of the Sahaba. The four schools differ significantly on whether personal-use gold jewelry is even subject to Zakat. He does not resolve this question in this clip and promises a separate detailed discussion.
The Guardian of an Orphan — 5:00
If an orphan has wealth and the guardian (uncle, cousin, etc.) wishes to pay the Zakat from their own funds out of generosity — no problem, Allah will bless them for it. However, it is not obligatory for the guardian to do this. The correct and sufficient approach is to take 2.5% from the orphan's wealth and distribute it as Zakat. Allah knows how much is being taken.
Summary — 7:00
A person may volunteer to pay Zakat on behalf of another, in which case it functions as a gift. It cannot be demanded by the wealth's owner from another person. And Allah knows best.