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Fatwa CenterLost money of Zakat before giving it
Question
I had my Zakaat money in a bag. I lost the bag and never found it. What should I do?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
What we understood from your question is that you did not pay the Zakat on your money, which means that you did not count how much Zakat you are obliged to pay, but you only kept an amount of money from your wealth in order to pay Zakat with it. So, if this is the case, and you did not pay your Zakat because you were unable to do so, because you did not find a person who is eligible for Zakat to give it to him, or that a complete lunar year did not yet elapse on your wealth, then you are not obliged to pay Zakat on whatever money you lost; you are only required to pay the Zakat on whatever money remains in your possession if it reaches the minimum amount liable for Zakat. But if you had no sound excuse for delaying the payment of Zakat, then you are obliged to pay Zakat even on the money that you have lost. Nonetheless, if you calculated the amount of Zakat that you are obliged to pay and prepared it for payment, but you lost it before giving it to the people who are eligible for it, then the scholars
differed in opinion whether or not this is sufficient. Since there is no preponderant opinion in this regard, it is safer for you to pay Zakat again. However, they all agreed that if the loss of the money was due to the person's negligence, then it is not sufficient from him and he is obliged to pay the Zakat again.
Allaah Knows best.
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