Is it permissible to pay Zakat on monthly business profits?

The zakat on trade goods is obligatory on both the principal capital and the profit together, provided they reach the minimum threshold (nisab). It is disbursed at a rate of 2.5% after the completion of one full lunar year (hawl). It is permissible to pay the zakat in installments throughout the year, but at the end of the year, it must be disbursed immediately. It is not permissible to delay it for months, because it is a right belonging to the poor, and the command to give it implies promptness.