Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
1)Can one give zakat to a friend who has 3 kids, is very poor although he has a job, and is needy? Instead of giving the Zakat to a Zakat organization?
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Zakat is for poor or needy individuals who fulfill the criterion — namely, not possessing a net zakatable amount once their immediate needs and all debts are deducted —
Zakat organizations merely act as our agents (wukala’, pl. of wakeel), to assist in the process of getting the money to those poor or needy.
2)A popular question, that’s been answered before: Can I just give Zakat on the amount I have in my account after a whole year, regardless of the drops and inclines that happened during the year?
Yes. There are 3 issues:
a) zakat becomes due once you have possessed a zakatable amount for one lunar year;
b) the zakat year starts once you possess a net zakatable amount;
c) zakat is due at the end of this year, on the amount you have at the end of the year, regardless of any fluctuations during the year, and regardless of when you acquired different amounts of the money and wealth during this year. (So, if your grandfather gave you 100,000 Euros a day before your zakat year ends, adding to the 5,000 Euros net zakatable amount you had before that, you will have to pay zakat on the final 105,000 Euros.)
(See archives at www.sunnipath.com)
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani