Zakat on the Sum Paid by the Airline Company to the Heirs of the Deceased

Question

Many passengers were aboard an aeroplane. On the way the aeroplane fell, and all the passengers died. Now the company has paid their heirs a sum of forty thousand rupees. No insurance or the like had been taken out; rather, the company paid this sum under its own rules. Will zakat have to be paid on it after a year has passed?

Answer

The sum that the company has paid to someone is his property (milk); like his other owned wealth, zakat will be obligatory on it as well.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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