Zakaah on the later portion of the mahr

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The later portion of the
dowry is a debt that the husband owes to the wife. The view about zakaah on
it is like the view on zakaah on all other kinds of debt. One of two
scenarios must apply with regard to this dowry:

-1-

If the wife is able to ask
for it and her husband is rich and has no objection to giving her the later
portion of the dowry, then zakaah should be paid on it every year, because
it has become like the wealth that she possesses.

-2-

If the husband is poor and
cannot pay it, or the wife cannot ask for it for fear of making her husband
angry and he will divorce her if she asks for it, or if the custom is that
the woman is not entitled to this delayed portion unless she and her husband
become separated either through divorce or death – as is customary among
people nowadays – then no zakaah is due on this delayed portion because she
is not able to dispose of it. But when she does get possession of it, she
must calculate one year from the time when she took possession of it. In
order to be on the safe side, she should pay zakaah for one year when she
takes possession of it, even if many years have passed.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the dowry of a woman
who had been married for many years but she was not able to ask her husband
for it lest they become separated, then she was compensated for her dowry
with some real estate or by being given the dowry after many years. Does she
have to pay zakaah for the past years or when one year has passed since she
took possession of the dowry?

He replied: Praise be to
Allaah, there are many opinions concerning this matter among the scholars. …
The most correct opinion is the view of those who say that no zakaah is due
at all until one year has passed, or zakaah is due once when she takes
possession of it. There is evidence for both views. The former is the view
of Abu Haneefah and the latter is the view of Maalik, and both are mentioned
in the madhhab of Ahmad. And Allaah knows best. End quote from Majmoo’
al-Fataawa (25/47).

And Allaah knows best.