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Zakat for poor scholar who owns hundreds of books

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by IslamicPortal.co.uk

Zakat for poor scholar who owns hundreds of books

Question

A religious scholar who is a Mufti is extremely poor with no Niṣāb equivalent wealth beyond his needs. However, he has hundreds of books worth thousands of pounds that were gifted to him. He requires these books for his teaching and Fatwa service. Is he eligible to receive Zakat?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Answer

A scholar and jurist who requires books for his teaching and Fatwa service will consider the books as part of his needs. Therefore, the scholar in question is eligible for Zakat.

قال السرخسي في المبسوط (٢/١٩٧): قال مشايخنا رحمهم الله تعالى: إن الفقيه إذا ملك من الكتب ما يساوي مالا عظيما ولكنه محتاج إليها يحل له أخذ الصدقة، إلا أن يملك فضلا عن حاجته ما يساوي مائتي درهم، انتهى. وقال السمرقندي في التحفة (١/٣٠١) وتبعه الكاساني في البدائع (٢/٤٨): ثم مقدار ما يحتاج إليه ما ذكر أبو الحسن (الكرخي) في كتابه فقال: لا بأس بأن يعطي من الزكاة من له مسكن وخدم وما يتأثث به في منزله وفرس وسلاح وثياب البدن وكتب العلم إن كان من أهله، ما لم يكن له فضل عن ذلك مائتا درهم، انتهى. وقال المرغيناني في الهداية (١/٩٦): وعلى هذا كتب العلم لأهلها، انتهى. وراجع المحيط البرهاني (٢/٢٨٥) والفتاوى التاتارخانية (٣/٢١٥) وفتح القدير (٢/١٦٣)۔

Allah knows best

Yusuf Shabbir

22 Shaʿbān 1442 / 5 April 2021

Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir

This answer was collected from IslamicPortal.co.uk, which is a repository of Islamic Q&A, articles, books, and resources. Various schools write and oversee the answers, including Maulana Yusuf Shabbir, Mufti Shabbir Ahmed, and Mufti Muhammad Tahir. 

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