Zakah on loan
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
How are you Burhan bhai
i am working in saudi, i had given some loan to my close relatives
as they had asked me for help. i am thinking that i will not ask them about the
money, if they will give me back i will take it, if they will not return me, i
will ignore that. so far no any information from them that wheither they will
return or not.
so now the question is for zakat. i have to consider this money is
cash in hand or not. i want the solution about zakat. thanks and khuda hafiz
(There
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Answer:
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
One of
the conditions when rendering zakah is that the person who pays it must have an
intention that he is paying the zakah dues.
Thus the scholars in Islam do not hold it permissible that an amount
given in loan be converted to zakah when the person is unable to pay it back. It would be considered righteousness and a form
of ‘sadaqah’ if one forgives the loan, but it cannot be converted into zakah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 280: If the debtor is in a difficulty grant him time till it is easy for
him to repay. But if ye remit if by way of
‘sadaqah’ (charity), that is best for you, if ye only knew.
Your
Question: so now the question is for zakat. i have to consider this money is
cash in hand or not. i want the solution about zakat.
If the
loan is such that one is doubtful whether the debtor will ever pay the loan
back or not; then there is no zakah due on it.
If and when the debtor actually pays the loan back, then the person
should pay the zakah on that amount.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister