Is the zakaat leviable from the past years when I started making the payment and how can this be calculated now?
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
sirs,
Assalamo-alaikum,There is an
ambiguity in determining the
leviable
zakaat on residential plots.While in Govtt.service,I have been
paying
the cost of residential plots in
different housing schemes in easy
instalments.I
paid up for four plots.All amount has now been paid up and I
am retired
now.I have not yet taken possession of the plot .The intention
was to
sell the plots when their cost will increase.I will like to know
how
zakaat on these plots be calculated:
1)I am
not sure of their market price now
until I sell.
2) Is
the zakaat leviable from the past years when I started making the payment and
how an this be calculated now? I didnot pay zakaat on this account earlier.I
will appreciate an early response as this will also help many of my friends for
payment of zakaat who purchased plots in instalments or one time by making
total payment.
May
Allah bless you for our guidance.
One humble subscriber.
(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:
Zakah on land
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.
If you had purchased the plots with the intention to
resell them, then the zakah is due yearly on your share of the paid value of
the land.
Your
Question: I am not sure of their market
price now until I sell.
If you are unsure or there is absolutely no way of
determining the market price or value of the land until you sell the property,
then you may determine the zakah in one of two ways:
- Pay
the yearly zakah on your share of the paid cost value of the land.
- Estimate
the market value of the land and pay your yearly zakah dues on the land
according to the percentage of the installments you have paid.
Either way, zakah is liable on the lands purchased
according to the value of the installments you have paid.
Your
Question: Is the zakaat leviable from the past years when I started making the
payment and how can this be calculated now? I didnot pay zakaat on this account
earlier.
If you have not paid the zakah on the bought property in
the past years, that would remain an outstanding debt unto your Lord which has
to be fulfilled. It would be best to
count the amount and value of the installments you had paid on a yearly basis,
and then determine the zakah liable according to your level of investment in
the properties, and subsequently fulfill that zakah payment as soon as you
possibly can. It is expected that your
Lord will accept your piety, and will give you an unending reward for
fulfilling your obligatory duty unto Him.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in
Islam,
Burhan