In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Merciful…
The Permanent Committee for Research and Fatwaas, headed by Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have Mercy on him), was asked about a vacant lot of land purchased three years ago – Is there zakaat due upon it?
Their official published answer was as follows:
If you have prepared it for sale, then you are required to pay zakaat on it for the years that have past, based on its value at the end of each year. Then, you must continue to pay zakaat on it at the end of each year (of ownership).
If you are planning to build a house for yourself on it, there is no zakaat due upon it.
If you are planning to build a house on it to rent it to others, then you are to pay zakaat from the rent that you earn from it, after you’ve saved it for a year if it remains above the nisaab, wither by itself or mixed in with the rest of your (saved, zakaatable) wealth.
If you are planning to build a farm on it, then once it is built you must pay zakaat on your harvests of seeds and fruits, according to what is well known about the zakaat due on harvests of seeds and fruits.
And through Allaah (alone) is success. May He raise the rank of our Prophet Muhammad, and that of his family and companions, and grant them all peace.
Source: Fataawaa Al-Lajnat ad-Daa’imah (9/328-329).
Translated by: Moosaa Richardson
As salaamu ‘alayk,
AhsanAllaahu ileyk- The last two – the house built for rent and the farm- does one pay zakaah on the land as well in addition to the profits?Or just the rent/harvest?
BaarakAllaahu feek
wa ‘alaykis-salaamu wa rahmatullaah, There is no zakaat due on the land itself in these two cases, since the land is being used, and as a general rule – The tools, equipment, vehicles, land, etc. you use to make your living are not subject to zakaat. While all of them as merchandise or real estate would be subject to zakaat, and Allaah knows best. (updated: 8/19/2012)
As salaam u aliakum. If we buy land. Just as property. Not to sell. But to keep as security. Or fr children. Empty land. Do we still pay zakat on it. ?if yes how to determine how much. And on what value.
Asalaamu alaykum
I have a business and one Islamic year is up and I have to pay Zakah on the inventory at market value. Do i have to pay if my company(only one year old) is still in debt as we have not broke even yet?
Second what is the percentage of Zakah that a business must pay?
Jazak’Allahu Khairn
Assalamu alaykum ustaadh,
I have an important question which I cannot find an answer to from a reliable source so please kindly respond to me.
If I possess both gold which is below its nisaab level, and cash savings which are above their nisaab level; do I pay zakah on the cash only, or do I combine the value of the gold with the cash and then pay the required zakah?
Jazakallahu khayraa
Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. You may use the lower one to be safe, or you may use the one that more closely resembles the currency of your land for more accuracy. For example, the nisaab of America would be gold, because their currency is based on gold; the nisaab of the UK would be silver because their paper money is based on silver, and Allaah knows best.
As salaamu ‘alaykum ustaadh,
My familly produces beans for commercial purposes. We sell them as dried beans so they can be both measured and stored. Is there any zakaat due on them? Jazaak Allaahu khayran
Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. When/if your harvested beans exceed 5 wasaqs (300 saa’s), or 900 Litres, then Zakaat is due on it. You pay out 10% of the harvested beans in zakaat if you did not irrigate the crops (i.e. rain or underground water was sufficient), or only 5% if you had to work to irrigate the crops. And Allaah knows best. Review a similar answer from Sh. Ibn Baaz (رحمه الله) here: https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/10467/%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%85-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%88%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7
Assalaamu alaykum Ustaadh,
I am from Philippines. There’s a brother asking me regarding the zakaat of mahogany trees in our country which he bought last 2014. According to him after 8 years he can sell those trees (as woods). Are there any zakaat for its previous years and how is the calculation based on gold or silver. Baarakallaahu feekum
As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah,
My father and his 2 brothers have inherited a piece of land (no buildings or anything on it), which they have been looking to sell for the past few years. Is zakah due on that land? [I learned that “full possession of property” is one of the conditions of zakah, so does that mean that there’s no zakah if you *share* a piece of land?] Jazaakumullaahu khairan.
Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh. A piece of land that is being used has no zakaat due on it. However, a piece of land which is up for sale is a kind of “‘uroodh at-tijaarah” (merchandise, items for sale) in this case, and so, according to what is more correct according to the scholars, and safest as well: Zakaat is due on the market value of it, once a complete [hijri] year passes. Something which has zakaat due on it being owned by a single owner or multiple owners has no impact on zakaat. Everyone is required to pay zakaat based on the level of their ownership. So for example, if the land is valued at $100,000, and someone owns 10% of it, he would pay zakaat (2.5%) on $10,000 (the value of his 10% share of the 100k property), which would be $250. And Allah knows best.
AND: Please explain how you’ve understood that “full possession of the property” is a condition for zakaat to be due, and that sharing ownership of something would exclude someone from the zakaat due on it? (I think you may have misunderstood this point.)
JazaakAllaahu khairan for the clarification.
In regards to “full possession of property” being a condition of zakaah – it was listed as one of the conditions by Dr. Saleh As-Saleh رحمه الله in a series of audios regarding zakaah. However, he رحمه الله did not elaborate on this particular point. So I assumed that it meant “if you share it, there’s no zakaah.”
Perhaps the actual intended meaning was that: it has to be something that you actually own – i.e. you’re not renting it (?)
And in regards to “full possession of property” being a condition – perhaps it is a difference of opinion?
The meaning of full possession is something you have in your possession, not someone you have loaned to someone and it is not in your hands or possession. As for partnerships and shared ownerships, I do not know of a single scholar who says that this would make something exempt from zakaat.
As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah,
As a follow-up question: since we now know that zakaah has been due on this land, does that mean we have to pay the zakaah for all the previous/missed years (e.g. the decision to sell it was made 5 years ago, so we have to pay the zakaah for the past 5 years)?
BaarakAllaahu feek.
Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh. Yes, Zakaat is due on missed payments. If you missed five years, you pay five years of Zakaat now. In some rulings, ignorance of the ruling can excuse you from the need to compensate for the missed obligations. Yet, with zakaat, because it is not just the right of Allah, it is also the right of the poor people, ignorance of the ruling does not excuse you from the obligation to pay the zakaat for the years you missed. See this from Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have Mercy on him) (Arabic):
LINK: https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/6501/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%87%D9%84-%D8%A8%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%82%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%A7