What is the ruling on an advance Zakat payment if the recipient's condition does not change before the due date (*hawl*)?
Chapter on Zakat on Sheep
Al-Mughni
Book of Zakat
Primary text
If an advance Zakat payment is made to its rightful recipient and the recipient's condition remains unchanged—meaning the recipient neither dies, becomes wealthy, nor commits apostasy before the due date—the payment is considered valid and effective for the payer, and the payer is not required to provide a replacement, nor can the payer reclaim it, similar to a payment made after the obligation is due. This is the view held by Abu Hanifa.
Supporting text
Al-Shafi'i holds that it is invalid because a condition necessary for the Zakat (the recipient's need) ceased to exist before the due date, analogous to the wealth being destroyed or the owner dying. The supported argument is that the Zakat was paid to the rightful recipient, and a change in the recipient's condition afterward does not negate the validity, just as if the recipient became wealthy from it. It is a right discharged to its owner, releasing the payer from liability, like paying a debt early.