My mother has a sum of money in one of the Islamic banks, which she has had for more than a year, I do not know how many years. We want to pay zakaah on this money, knowing that the amount used to increase and decrease.


Praise be to Allaah.

Zakaah is one of the pillars of Islam, and zakaah becomes due
on wealth if it reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold) and one year passes.
The nisaab for cash money is the equivalent of 85 grams of gold or 597 grams
of silver. 

See the answer to question no.
2795. 

It is not permissible to delay paying zakaah to those who are
entitled to it. Whoever does that has to repent and seek forgiveness for
delaying it, and he has to pay it for every year that has passed. He should
calculate his wealth for each year and pay the zakaah at the rate of
one-quarter of one-tenth (2.5%). 

If the wealth fell below the nisaab one year, then no zakaah
is due for that year, until it reaches the nisaab again, and the reckoning
of one year should resume from when it reached the nisaab. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) was asked: 

There is a person who did not pay zakaah for four years. What
should he do? 

He replied: 

This person is sinning by
delaying his zakaah, because what a person should do is to pay it as soon as
it becomes due and not delay it. The basic principle is that obligations
must be fulfilled immediately and not delayed. This person must also repent
to Allaah from this sin, and hasten to pay the zakaah for all the years that
have passed. None of that zakaah can be waived, rather he has to repent and
hasten to pay it so that he will not increase in sin by delaying it. End
quote. 

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
18/question no. 211. 

The Shaykh also said: 

Zakaah is an act of worship of Allaah, and it a right owed to
the people who are entitled to zakaah. If a person withholds it then he is
transgressing two rights, the right of Allaah, may He be exalted, and the
right of the people who are entitled to zakaah. If he repents after five
years – as it says in the question – then the right of Allaah is waived,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):” 

“And He it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and
forgives sins, and He knows what you do”

[al-Shoora 42:25] 

But there remains the
second right – that of those who are entitled to zakaah such as the poor and
others, so he must give the zakaah to them. He may attain the reward for
zakaah if his repentance is sincere, because the grace of Allaah is
immense. 

With regard to working out the zakaah, try to work out the
amount of zakaah as best you can, and Allaah does not burden any soul beyond
its scope. The zakaah of ten thousand – for example – is two hundred and
fifty per year. If the amount of zakaah is two hundred and fifty, then you
should pay two hundred and fifty for each of the past years, unless there
was more than ten thousand in one year, in which case you should pray
proportionately more; if it decreased in some years then the zakaah
decreases accordingly. End quote. 

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
18/question no. 214 

And Allaah knows
best.