Zakat

[Colonel_Hardstone]

If one has invested money in land, should one pay zakat for that plot?

I am really sorry but I need further clarification.

"In principle there is no Zakaat on land if there was no intention of trading it at the time of purchase."

I dont know what exactly is trading mean here but I stated the intention which is sort of mixed. Now should one pay the zakat for the land every year looking at the market rate of the land or if it enough to pay the zakat on money that was got after selling the land.

Sorry for my bad English but I hope you got my question. Please do kindly clarify.

The answer to your query depends on further clarification.

1. With which intention did you buy the plot of land? For personal use OR for selling when the price changes i.e. personal use OR business?
2. Has that intention changed or still the same?
3. When did the intention change? How long ago?

[mercyofAllah]

The answer to your query depends on further clarification.

1. With which intention did you buy the plot of land? For personal use OR for selling when the price changes i.e. personal use OR business?
2. Has that intention changed or still the same?
3. When did the intention change? How long ago?

Hmm the person is not in business and from the time of buying the plot, the intention was like to invest the money in land and the land can be used as such for personal use in the future or can be sold if some personal need arise. Instead of keeping the cash, it was invested in land so if sold in the future, there can be profit as the price of land normally increase over years. The intention didnt change but as explained the intention is kind of mixed.

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Hmm the person is not in business and from the time of buying the plot, the intention was like to invest the money in land and the land can be used as such for personal use in the future or can be sold if some personal need arise. Instead of keeping the cash, it was invested in land so if sold in the future, there can be profit as the price of land normally increase over years. The intention didnt change but as explained the intention is kind of mixed.

Intention of investment means that this land was NOT for personal use.

[abuhajira]

Hereunder is answer as per your original question. I made amendments to the question to incorporate later ones in it.

---


Question:

1. If one has invested money in land, should one pay zakat for that plot?

2. If we rent out the land and earn from the land, should we

3. What if one has sort of intention like in future one can use the land for personal use or it can be sold depending on the situation.

Jazakallah

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

1. In principle there is no zakāt on land.

However in the following scenarios the rules will be different.

a. If the land is bought with the intention of reselling. In this case, the land will be treated as a “stock in trade” and its market value will be used to calculate zakat.[1]

b. If the land is rented out, then the income from it will be zakatable.[2]

c. If the land is bought without any particular intention, then there is no zakat on such a land. However, if the intention changes later on and now the person wishes to sell the land then the zakat will have to be paid on the sale price once the land is sold. This means that if a person makes the intention in 2012 to sell the land but was not able to sell it, he will not pay zakat on this land. When the land gets sold later on in 2013 then the proceeds from the sale will be zakatable for 2013’s calculation.[3]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed,
Montréal, Canada

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

[1] ((وما اشتراه لها) أي للتجارة (كان لها) لمقارنة النية لعقد التجارة)...لأن الشرط في التجارة مقارنتها لعقدها وهو كسب المال بالمال بعقد شراء أو إجارة (الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (2/ 272))

( الزكاة واجبة في عروض التجارة كائنة ما كانت ) أي سواء كانت من جنس ما تجب فيه الزكاة كالسوائم أو من غيره كالثياب والحمير .( الجوهرة النيرة (1/ 478))

" وتضم قيمة العروض إلى الذهب والفضة حتى يتم النصاب " لأن الوجوب في الكل باعتبار التجارة (الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي (1/ 103))

فتاوى محمودية ج9 ص412 ، احسن الفتاوى ج4 ص304

[2] المرجع السابق

[3] (لا يبقى للتجارة ما) أي عبد مثلا (اشتراه لها فنوى) بعد ذلك (خدمته ثم) ما نواه للخدمة (لا يصير للتجارة) وإن نواه لها ما لم يبعه بجنس ما فيه الزكاة. والفرق أن التجارة عمل فلا تتم بمجرد النية؛ بخلاف الأول فإنه ترك العمل فيتم بها (الدر المختار 2/ 272))

[mercyofAllah]

jazaakumALlahu Khayraa for a very clear answer Alhamdulillah
Just have another doubt.
If the 3rd condition is met and the person still pays the zakat based on land value as a precaution, will it be wrong? Is it a transgression?

[abuhajira]

jazaakumALlahu Khayraa for a very clear answer Alhamdulillah
Just have another doubt.
If the 3rd condition is met and the person still pays the zakat based on land value as a precaution, will it be wrong? Is it a transgression?

No, it will not be transgression. InshAllah it will be counted as sadaqah.

Wallahu A'lam