Is Zakat obligatory on an amount of 5,000 Riyals that I loaned to a needy person, and is it permissible to count this amount from the Zakat of my saved money?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If the debtor is in straitened circumstances, the creditor is not obligated to pay on the debt until it is recovered. Some scholars hold the view that zakat should be paid for one year after recovery, while others believe it should be paid for all past years, which is closer to piety (wara).
It is permissible for the creditor to give zakat to their poor debtor. However, it is not permissible to waive the debt and count it as zakat, because zakat is a right of Allah Almighty, and the creditor is not permitted to benefit from it by recovering their debt.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/162826
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 162826
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy