Zakat on Funds Kept for Marriage or Medical Needs

Short answer: Yes. Money set aside for future needs is still cash you own — zakatable once nisab and hawl complete. The shariah's exemption covers assets in current use (residence, clothing, utensils) — not money saved for the future; otherwise anyone could label any hoard 'necessity' and escape zakat. Details: The genuinely needy — who has no nisab-level surplus at all — owes nothing anyway; but a year-old balance above nisab makes you 'able' in the shariah's eyes. Once medical spending starts, what is spent leaves the books; only what remains on your zakat day is paid at 2.5%. And remember: wealth whose zakat is paid is not the condemned hoard (kanz). Evidence: Quran 2:219 ('say: the surplus'); Quran 9:34-35 with Sahih al-Bukhari 1403 (the miser's wealth as a serpent on Judgment Day); the well-known salaf principle that what is zakated is no kanz; Shaykh al-Uthaymin on earmarked savings. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.