Chapter on Hastening Zakat and Delaying It Beyond the Times in Which It Becomes Obligatory

Muhammad ibn Yaqub, from Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Hammad, from Hariz, from Zurarah, who said: I (narrator) asked Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, peace be upon him, about ‘a man to whom a brother of his sent zakat so that he would distribute it, and it was lost.’ Imam عليه السلام said: “There is no liability upon the messenger, nor upon the one who pays it.” So I (narrator) asked: “Then if he does not find people entitled to it, and it spoils and changes, is he liable for it?” Imam عليه السلام said: “No. But if he knows people entitled to it, and it perishes or spoils, then he is liable for it from the time he delayed it.”