Islam has mandated Zakat upon all individuals, whether young or old, male or female, sane or insane, resident or traveler. However, some people driven by greed strive to withhold it from the poor and avoid its payment through deceptive schemes, falsely believing that such tactics exempt them from this obligation. Islam has invalidated all such schemes through its wise legislation and sound implementation.
Below is some of these deceptive tactics and the means to counter them:
1- Transferring Wealth to a Minor Before the Zakat Due Date or Assigning It to an Insane Person Under One’s Care
It is well known that when wealth reaches the Nisab (minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to zakat) and a full lunar year passes over it, Zakat becomes obligatory upon it. Some deceptive individuals attempt to evade Zakat by transferring ownership of their wealth, which has reached the Nisab, to their minor child, claiming that this absolves them of the obligation since the child is not accountable. Similarly, some transfer the ownership of wealth to an insane person under their care to ensure that Zakat is not due, relying on the argument that the insane are not obligated to pay Zakat.
Islam has invalidated this scheme. The majority of Islamic jurists have ruled that Zakat is obligatory on the wealth of minors and the insane. This ruling is based on the generality of the hadith recorded by both Al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahih collections, where the Prophet ﷺ instructed Mu’adh ibn Jabal when sending him to Yemen: “Tell them that Allah has prescribed sadaqah(zakat) on their property and returned it to their poor.” The hadith does not exclude minors or the insane but rather sets a general rule for all wealthy individuals, making Zakat obligatory upon their wealth.
Furthermore, Zakat is an obligation tied to wealth itself, not the status of the individual. Additionally, the purpose of Zakat is to fulfill the needs of the poor and purify wealth. Since their wealth can serve this purpose, the obligation remains valid. While acts of worship like prayer are not required of minors and the insane, as they are direct duties owed to Allah by individuals, Zakat is both a financial right of the poor and an obligation owed to Allah from the wealth of the rich. Hence, it remains obligatory on the wealth of minors and the insane, and their guardian is responsible for paying it on their behalf. (1)
2- Splitting or Combining Wealth to Evade or Reduce the Zakat Amount
Some people attempt to manipulate Zakat obligations by either dividing or consolidating their wealth to avoid paying it or to reduce the required amount. A key principle in Zakat calculations is that the Nisab for sheep, for example, starts at 40 sheep. If a Muslim owns between 40 and 120 sheep, they are required to give one sheep as Zakat. If they own between 121 and 200 sheep, the Zakat due is two sheep.
The scheme involves three individuals, each owning 40 sheep, making them individually liable to pay Zakat. They then combine their livestock, bringing the total to 120 sheep. This means that instead of each of them paying one sheep each (a total of three sheep), they now only owe one sheep in total due to their combined ownership.
Another scheme occurs when two partners collectively own 202 sheep, making them liable for three sheep in Zakat. To reduce their payment, they divide the livestock so that each partner owns fewer sheep individually, thus reducing the Zakat amount to one sheep each.
Islam has invalidated these tactics. The Prophet ﷺ forbade such manipulation, as recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, where he said: “One should neither collect various portions (of the property) nor divide the property into various portions in order to avoid paying Zakat.” Ibn Hajar commented that this hadith serves as evidence for invalidating any deceptive scheme aimed at avoiding Zakat. (2)
This ruling reinforces the principle that no believer in Allah and the Day of Judgement should withhold Zakat, nor should they transfer their wealth to a collective ownership scheme as a means of evading the obligation; such that each individual ends up owning an amount of camels, cattle, or sheep that falls below the threshold for Zakat. No form of deception or scheme should be used to evade the obligation of Zakat in any way or by any means. (3)
3- Excessive Purchase of Women’s Jewelry to Evade Zakat
It is established in Islamic jurisprudence that no Zakat is due on permissible jewelry used for women’s adornment, provided it is not excessive. The exemption is based on the fact that such jewelry is non-productive wealth meant for personal use rather than trade.
However, if a woman accumulates jewelry beyond customary norms—exceeding what is typical for someone in her social and economic status—then Zakat becomes obligatory on it. The excessive accumulation of jewelry, in this case, suggests that it is being used as an alternative to cash wealth, intended to evade Zakat rather than for mere adornment. In such cases, the obligation of Zakat remains. (4)
This ruling emphasizes that purchasing jewelry with the intention of evading Zakat does not absolve one from the obligation, nor does it free them from sin. Zakat is a duty upon every free Muslim, and the sincerity of a believer and their awareness of Allah should serve as an internal deterrent against resorting to deceptive tactics. True faith blocks all attempts to evade Zakat or to reduce its amount through deceptive means.
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(1) Zakat, Dr. Na’mat Abdul Latif Mashhour, pp. 29-30. See also: Kitab al-Amwal, Abu Ubayd Al-Qasim ibn Salam, p. 554.
(2) Fath Al-Bari, Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (3/314-315).
(3) Al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah (3/42); Zakat, Dr. Na’mat Abdul Latif Mashhour, p. 47.
(4) Kitab al-Kharaj, Abu Yusuf Ya’qub ibn Ibrahim, p. 93.
