It is narrated from Yahya bin Saeed that he bought some property for the orphan boys of his brother, then that property was sold at a high price.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There is nothing wrong with trading with the wealth of an orphan when the guardian of the orphan is trustworthy and honest, and he will not be held liable if there is a loss.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If a person dies and he has not paid the zakat on his wealth, then zakat should be taken from one third of his wealth, not more than that, and this zakat will take precedence over his bequests, because zakat is like a debt upon him, therefore it will be given precedence over bequests. However, this ruling is when the deceased has made a bequest for the payment of zakat; if he did not make a bequest but his heirs pay it, then it is better, but it is not obligatory upon them.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, the agreed-upon Sunnah is that zakat is not obligatory on the heir for the wealth that reaches him by way of inheritance—neither on debt, nor on goods, nor on a house, nor on a slave, nor on a female slave. However, if he sells any item from the inheritance and a year passes over its sale or the receipt of its price, then zakat will become obligatory.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, the ruling is that zakat is not obligatory on the heir for the wealth that has reached him through inheritance until a year has passed over it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'ib bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: This month is the month of your zakat, so whoever has any debt should pay off the debt, and whatever wealth remains, he should pay zakat on it.

It is narrated from Ayyub bin Abi Tamimah Sakhtiyani that Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote regarding a property which some rulers had unjustly seized: Return it to its owner, and collect from it the zakat for the years that have passed. After that, he wrote another letter stating that the zakat for those years should not be taken because that property was under duress (not in the owner's possession).

It is narrated from Yazid bin Khusaifah that he asked Sulayman bin Yasar: A man has wealth but he has debt equal to it, is zakat obligatory on him? He replied: No.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, there is no difference of opinion regarding this ruling that zakat is not obligatory on a loan until it is received. So if the loan remains with the debtor for several years and then is received, zakat for only one year will be obligatory. If the amount of the loan received is less than the nisab, then zakat will not be obligatory on it, except in the case where that person has other wealth as well, so he should combine it and pay zakat on the total. If he does not have any other cash wealth but still has other loans due from debtors, then zakat will not yet be obligatory, but he should keep in mind the amount that has been received. After that, if so much is received that the nisab is completed, then zakat will become obligatory at that time. If he has spent the wealth that was received earlier, even then zakat will be obligatory.

When, afterwards, so much is received that it completes the nisab, then when he receives the equivalent of twenty dinars or two hundred dirhams, zakat will become obligatory. After this, whatever amount, small or large, he receives, zakat will increase accordingly.