Is Zakat due on the wealth of a minor or an insane person?
Chapter on Zakat on Sheep
Al-Mughni
Book of Zakat
Primary text
Zakat is obligatory on the wealth of a minor and an insane person because the three conditions for obligation exist within them. This is narrated from Umar, Ali, Ibn Umar, Aisha, Al-Hasan ibn Ali, and Jabir, and is the position of Jabir ibn Zayd, Ibn Sirin, Ata, Mujahid, Rabi'ah, Malik, Al-Hasan ibn Salih, Ibn Abi Layla, Al-Shafi'i, Al-Anbari, Ibn Uyaynah, Ishaq, Abu Ubaid, and Abu Thawr. The guardian must pay it on their behalf from their wealth because it is an obligatory Zakat, just as it is for a mature, sane person. The guardian stands in their place for its fulfillment, as it is a right due upon them, analogous to the maintenance of relatives.
Supporting text
It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Thawri, and Al-Awza'i that Zakat becomes due but is not paid until the minor reaches maturity or the afflicted person regains sanity. Al-Hasan, Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Abu Wa'il, Al-Nakha'i, and Abu Hanifa held that Zakat is not due on their wealth, though Abu Hanifa permitted Ushr on their crops and fruits, and Sadaqat al-Fitr for them. The basis for non-obligation is the Hadith: "The pen is lifted from three: the minor until he reaches puberty, the insane until he recovers."