21st June 2017
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Question: Please can you help me in the following matter. A few years ago the government was giving vouchers which they used to open a child trust fund account for the child. Since then I have been putting in money to save each month. The account was with children mutual Shari’ah account and now as it has closed down and now been transferred to foresters financial Shari’ah account. Is this allowed in Islam being in a Shari’ah account? If so then how do I calculate Zakāt on it? Do I pay on the amount I put in over the years, or what its value is worth after they invest some funds keeping in mind that the value fluctuates all the time?
الجواب حامداً و مصلياً
In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
Just to be clear here that the government has now replaced Child Trust Fund (CTF) with Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), so the term CTF no longer exists. The Islamic ruling on Zakāt does not differ, however. This is more or less the same as forester’s financial Shari’ah account, in that it isn’t much different from the government scheme of trust funds or savings account. It is an investment scheme on the child’s savings starting with the initial voucher paid by the government towards the child. The service provider uses the child’s savings to invest in various other stocks and shares so to accrue profit on the original savings. Family and relatives have the option to contribute funds towards the child’s savings. By law, the child can only access his or her account at the age of 18 but until then, it is the parents or legal guardian who manages their account.[1]
From the Shar’ee point of view, the initial voucher paid by the government is considered an atiyyah (gift). The child who is the account holder is considered the mālik (owner) whilst the parents or guardian act as a mutawalli (guardians who merely manage the account) until the child reaches 18 years of age, after which the child now takes full control over the savings, presumably because he/she is now mature and intelligent enough to manage their own account.[2]
What is important is the stocks and shares in which the savings are invested must be Halāl. The information obtained from the Shari’ah savings accounts website suggests that the investment is Shari’ah compliant, therefore permissible.[3] In regards to calculating Zakāt then since the child is considered the mālik over the savings account, he or she is not obliged to pay Zakāt until they reach buloogh otherwise before that, Zakāt won’t be necessary.[4]
Another condition for the necessity of Zakāt is having possession over the Zakātable assets upon the elapsing of a complete lunar year. In your case however, as the savings belong to the child, they gain access to the savings at the age of 18 which by then they have already attained buloogh. They become responsible for paying Zakāt from the year they are given access to the funds provided it reaches to the nisab level. The ruling on paying Zakāt over the previous years however depends on the accessibility over the savings before the age of 18. The fact that the child is choosing to invest his funds, it could be argued that there is some element of control although the child accesses the funds at a certain age. Hence, the child will be responsible to pay Zakāt over the previous years from the age of buloogh.
[Allāh Knows Best]
Written by (Mufti) Abdul Waheed
Answer Attested by Shaykh Mufti Saiful Islam
JKN Fatawa Department
[1] https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/junior-isas
[2] Ahkāmul Qur’ān Jassas p. 359 vol 2
أنه لا يجوز له إمساك ماله بعد ما يَصِيرُ فِي حَدِّ الْكِبَرِ وَلَوْلَا ذَلِكَ لَمَا كان لذكر الكبر هاهنا مَعْنًى إذْ كَانَ الْوَالِي عَلَيْهِ هُوَ الْمُسْتَحِقُّ لِمَالِهِ قَبْلَ الْكِبَرِ وَبَعْدَهُ فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُ إذَا صَارَ فِي حَدِّ الْكِبَرِ اسْتَحَقَّ دَفْعَ الْمَالِ إلَيْهِ
Tafseer Qurtubi p. 37 vol 5
وَقَالَ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ: لَا يُحْجَرُ عَلَى الْحُرِّ الْبَالِغِ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَبْلَغَ الرِّجَالِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ أَفْسَقَ النَّاسِ وَأَشَدَّهُمْ تَبْذِيرًا إِذَا كَانَ عَاقِلًا.
السَّادِسَةُ إِذَا ثَبَتَ هَذَا فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ دَفْعَ الْمَالِ يَكُونُ بِشَرْطَيْنِ: إِينَاسُ الرُّشْدِ وَالْبُلُوغُ، فَإِنْ وُجِدَ أَحَدُهُمَا دُونَ الْآخَرِ لَمْ يَجُزْ تَسْلِيمُ الْمَالِ، كَذَلِكَ نَصُّ الْآيَةِ. وَهُوَ رِوَايَةُ ابْنِ الْقَاسِمِ وَأَشْهَبَ وَابْنِ وَهْبٍ عَنْ مَالِكٍ فِي الْآيَةِ.
[3] http://www.islamicmortgages.co.uk/index.php?id=218
[4] Ibn Ābideen Shami, Kitāb Zakāt, vol 3, p. 173
(وَشَرْطُ افْتِرَاضِهَا عَقْلٌ وَبُلُوغٌ )
(قَوْلُهُ عَقْلٌ وَبُلُوغٌ) فَلَا تَجِبُ عَلَى مَجْنُونٍ وَصَبِيٍّ لِأَنَّهَا عِبَادَةٌ مَحْضَةٌ وَلَيْسَا مُخَاطَبَيْنِ بِهَا، وَإِيجَابُ النَّفَقَاتِ وَالْغَرَامَاتِ لِكَوْنِهَا مِنْ حُقُوقِ الْعِبَادِ وَالْعُشْرِ، وَصَدَقَةِ الْفِطْرِ لِأَنَّ فِيهِمَا مَعْنَى الْمُؤْنَةِ