Fatwa ID: 08055

Answered by Alimah Humairah Badshah

Question:
Assalam o alikum,

I am Sunni Muslim Alhamdulillah. I am living in Europe from last 21 years. I am paying my Taxes regularly, every month.

I was paying zakat every year. but now a days I heard some mufti’s talking about Zakat that if you are paying taxes and social security, you don’t need to pay Zakat. There are also some Arabs, Malaysian, Indonesian and American Mufti’s, Gave fatwa about it, that once you paid Taxes, its not obligation to pay Zakat.

Kindly guide me in this matter.

thank you.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:
Wa’alaykumussalaam,

Taxes and social security in a non-Muslim country do not constitute zakaat. One reason for this is that zakaat has specific categories, and cannot be used for things like repairing roads, building bridges and the majority of tasks which taxpayer’s money is spent on in most countries. The zakaat needs to be given to the eligible recipient, not merely used to benefit the general population. A second reason is that zakaat money cannot be spent on the poor from the non-Muslims; the money must be spent on those eligible poor people who are Muslim. Additionally, when one pays taxes they do so intending to pay off a debt and an obligation which is upon them, not as an act of charity or zakaat. For these reasons, paying one’s taxes does not remove the obligation of zakaat.

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Alimah Humairah Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham

References:
وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَبْنِيَ بِالزَّكَاةِ الْمَسْجِدَ، وَكَذَا الْقَنَاطِرُ وَالسِّقَايَاتُ، وَإِصْلَاحُ الطَّرَقَاتِ، وَكَرْيُ الْأَنْهَارِ وَالْحَجُّ وَالْجِهَادُ وَكُلُّ مَا لَا تَمْلِيكَ فِيهِ
Al-Fataawa Al-Hindiyyah (Daar Al-Fikr, https://shamela.ws) v.1 p.188

قَوْلُهُ: خَرَجَ الْإِبَاحَةُ) فَلَا تَكْفِي فِيهَا، وَأَمَّا الْكَفَّارَةُ فَلَمْ تَخْرُجْ بِقَيْدِ التَّمْلِيكِ لِأَنَّ الشَّرْطَ فِيهَا التَّمْكِينُ وَهُوَ صَادِقٌ بِالتَّمْلِيكِ، وَإِنْ صَدَقَ بِالْإِبَاحَةِ أَيْضًا، نَعَمْ تَخْرُجُ بِقَوْلِهِ جَزْءُ مَالٍ
Radd Al-Muhtaar (Halabi ed., Daar Al-Fikr, https://shamela.ws) v.2 p.257

وَمِنْهَا أَنْ يَكُونَ مُسْلِمًا فَلَا يَجُوزُ صَرْفُ الزَّكَاةِ إلَى الْكَافِرِ بِلَا خِلَافٍ لِحَدِيثِ مُعَاذ «خُذْهَا مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ وَرَدَّهَا فِي فُقَرَائِهِمْ» أَمْرٌ بِوَضْعِ الزَّكَاةِ فِي فُقَرَاءِ مَنْ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ وَهُمْ الْمُسْلِمُونَ فَلَا يَجُوزُ وَضْعُهَا فِي غَيْرِهِمْ.
Badaai’ Al-Sanaai’ (Daar Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyyah, https://shamela.ws) v.2 p.49

وَتُعْتَبَرُ نِيَّةُ الْمُوَكِّلِ فِي الزَّكَاةِ دُونَ الْوَكِيلِ
Al-Fataawa Al-Hindiyyah (Daar Al-Fikr, https://shamela.ws) v.1 p.171

وَمِنْهَا الْغَارِمُ) ، وَهُوَ مَنْ لَزِمَهُ دَيْنٌ، وَلَا يَمْلِكُ نِصَابًا فَاضِلًا عَنْ دَيْنِهِ أَوْ كَانَ لَهُ مَالٌ عَلَى النَّاسِ لَا يُمْكِنُهُ أَخْذُهُ
Al-Fataawa Al-Hindiyyah (Daar Al-Fikr, https://shamela.ws) v.1 p.188