Is it permissible to delay paying Zakat for several months past its due date because of difficulty withdrawing money from the bank and the need for it to pay an upcoming debt?

Zakat is obligatory immediately, and it is not permissible to delay it except for a valid excuse. Among the accepted excuses is the absence of the wealth such that it cannot be accessed. Therefore, there is no harm in delaying the payment of Zakat until you can return to your country or find other wealth to pay to those entitled to it, and you are not obligated to borrow money to pay it.

Al-Mardawi said: "If it is impossible to pay it from the zakatable amount due to absence [of the wealth] or other reasons, then it is permissible to delay it until one is able."

It is stated in the fatwas of the Permanent Committee: "It is not permissible to delay the payment of Zakat after the completion of the hawl (one lunar year) except for a legitimate Shar'i excuse, such as the absence of the poor at the time of the completion of the hawl, or the inability to deliver it to them, or the absence of the wealth, and similar reasons."