Zakat on Money Saved for Hajj

Short answer: Yes. However noble the purpose — hajj, qurbani, a child's marriage, building a home — money remains zakatable while it is in your ownership and completes nisab and hawl. Intention does not remove wealth from the reckoning; only actual spending does. Details: Hajj becomes obligatory through means — and these savings are your means; the two acts of worship do not compete. If zakat slightly delays the fund, no harm — the blessing of discharging an obligation opens the way: 'Whatever you spend, He will replace it' (Quran 34:39). Money already paid over to a hajj agency as final payment is no longer yours and carries no zakat; only what remains in your hands or account is counted. Evidence: Quran 9:103; Ibn Majah 1792 (hawl); Quran 34:39; Shaykh Ibn Baz and the Permanent Committee that savings for hajj/marriage/building are zakatable once nisab and hawl complete. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.