I made an oath a few years ago that if a certain event happened I would give 5% of my net monthly salary to charity.

· 19 Ramadan 1425 AH1 min readFatwa 13064English

Question

In fulfulling the oath I have made an intention to accumulate the money each month for a certain number of years, and then use it for something more significant and long-lasting than just giving out food to the poor. To ensure that I keep aside the required money I have actioned monthly debit orders for 2 different investements i.e. Albaraka and Oasis. The sum of the monthly debit orders is greater than the 5% due by me in fulfillment of the oath (I thought I could invest for myself at the same time). My questions are, when I do decide to pay the money for a charitable cause, do I have to pay over the nominal amount of money (i.e. 5% of my net salary) that I invested every month; or do I have to pay over this amount plus any growth it had over the years? What if the investments made losses? From which investment do I have pay over the money?

Answer

In the case described by you, you are only obliged to pay the nominal amount, i.e. 5% of your net salary since this is what your oath comprised of. You do not have to pay out any amount beyond this 5% from the profit on your investment.

Furthermore, the 5% net will nonetheless apply if the investments make a loss. In short, the 5% net will apply irrespective of the performance of your investments.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Muhammad Kadwa
FATWA DEPT.

Answered by
Mufti Muhammad Kadwa
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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