Zakah housing
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:
Dear Brother Burhan,
I have deposited some
amount for the purchase of land in a houising society. I have not yet got the
possession of land. Do I have to include the amount of deposit in my asset for
payment of Zakat.
Regards.
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
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.
In
principle, the zakah is due on any excess wealth or nett worth of the person
which has been in his possession for a period of one year.
The money
that you have deposited in a housing society is a part of your asset and thus
your nett worth, and if you have had possession of that amount for a period of
one calendar year then zakah at the rate of 2.5% would indeed be due on it.
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