Ruling 1984 — Alms Tax (Zakat)

If a poor person knows that zakat has not become obligatory for someone and yet accepts something from him as zakat and it perishes while it is with him, he [the poor person] is responsible for it. However, when zakat becomes obligatory for the person, if the poor person has remained poor, the one on whom zakat is obligatory can count the thing he had given the poor person as zakat.