The first is for constructionof real estate in an Islamic Indian city.
The project was completed three years ago without receiving any money
and Icannot withdraw the money. The second is also in real estate, but
every four months I receive a small amount of profits that I spend on
my needs. For the past three years I have been saving some of my
monthly maintenance (from my husband) and have been paying the zakaah
on my wealth which has reached the sum of ten thousand.
But this year I was not able to save because my husband was building a
private villa and because prices rose. Now Ramadanis approaching and I
feel very worried because I do not have enough money to pay zakaah,
especially since I do not like to pay zakaah from bank profits.
My question is: is it permissible for me to divide the ten thousand
(which is the amount of my zakaah) according to my ability or should I
take a loan and pay the zakaah in one go, then pay off thedebt after
that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Putting money in a sharedbank portfolio to build real estate and then
trade in it or benefit from the dividends comes under the heading of
dealing in real estate shares.
The basic principle with regard to zakaah on shares is: if the company
[or bank] has not paid zakaah on its wealth for any reason, then what
the shareholders must do is pay zakaah on their shares. If the
shareholder is able to find out from thecompany accounts how much
zakaah is due on his own shares (that is if the company has paid
zakaah on its wealth in the manner indicated), then he should pay
zakaah on his shares in this manner, because that is the basic
principle with regard to paying zakaah on shares.
If the shareholder is not able to find out about that:
If he bought shares in the company with the aim of benefitting from
the annual dividend of the shares, not with the aim oftrading in them,
then this shareholder does not haveto pay zakaah on the shares
themselves; rather he must pay zakaah on the dividend, at the rate
ofone quarter of one tenth after one full hijri year has passed since
he took possession of the dividend. He should also pay attention to
the conditions of zakaah beingobligatory and make sure there are no
impediments.
If the shareholder bought the shares with the aim of trading in them,
he shouldpay zakaah on them as trade goods. If zakaah becomes due on
them when they are still in his possession, he should pay zaakah on
the market value. If they have no market value, he should pay zakaah
on their value as estimated by experts. He should pay one quarterof
one tenth, or 2.5%, of that value and of the profit if there is any.
End quote from Majallat Majma' al-Fiqh al-Islami (1/879)
Based on that:
If you bought this portfolio with the intention of benefitting from
the dividends, but you have not received anything, then you do not
have to pay zakaah on it. If you have received a small amount of
profit, but you spent it before one full hijri year had passed, then
you do not have to pay zakaah on it either.
If you bought these shareswith the intention of trading in them, then
you have to pay zakaah every year on the market value of the shares.
There is nothing wrong with you paying the obligatory zakaah from any
money you have, from bank profits or otherwise, so long as it is
permissible according to sharee'ah.
Secondly:
If a person is obliged to pay zakaah but he does not have any cash, it
is permissible for him to delay paying zakaah until he has the cash,
or to pay in instalments whenever he is able to do so, and he does not
have to take out a loan.
Al-Mirdaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Insaaf (3/186):
If you are not able to pay it fromthe wealth itself because itis not
available or for some other reason, it is permissible to delay it
until you are able to do so.End quote.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If the land and
the like, such as the house andcar and so on, are intended for trade,
then you have to pay zakaah every year based on their value at the end
of the zakaah year, and it is not permissible to delay that, except
for one who is unable to pay his zakaah because he has no other
wealth. In this case he may delay it until he sells it and pays the
zakaah for all years, each year according to its value at the end of
that zakaah year, whether the value was greater than the priceor less.
What I mean is: the price for which the land or car or house was
bought.And Allah knows best.
--
- - - - - - -