Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of delaying in paying Zakat? تأخير الزكاة عن وقتها

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say:   Allah ordained Zakat and set times for the Zakat of fruits. He said, “ and give its due [Zakat] on the day of its harvest” [al-An’am (141)], thus He fixed the day of harvest as the day for giving Zakat. This indicates that Zakat is due at a fixed time and a believer should not exceed this time. The majority scholars are of the opinion that Zakat should not be delayed.  However, it is permissible to delay giving Zakat if there is benefit or need for that. Delaying giving Zakat until Ramadan in order to attain the virtue of giving Zakat in Ramadan is not allowed