For children, - Spiritual Stories for Children: Don't treat the Evildoer with EvilTit for Tat, Backfire

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There was a companion of the king who visited him all the time. He would sit beside him and say, 'Treat the good-doer with good and don't treat the evil-doer with evil for his evil will be sufficient for him.'
Another man envied his position with the king and his good speech. The envious man came to the king and related: 'Your companion that sits beside you claimed that you had a bad smell.'
The king inquired, 'But how can I verify this?'
The man replied, 'Call him to you. He will put his hand on his nose as he gets closer to you.'
The king said, 'Leave, and I will see!' This man left the king and invited the king's companion to a meal that he had placed much garlic in.
The companion of the king ate and then went to the king as usual and said, 'Treat the good-doer with good and don't treat the evil-doer with evil, for his evil will be sufficient for him.'
The king said to him, 'Get closer to me!' The man moved closer, and placed his hand over his mouth so that the king would not smell the odor of garlic.
The king thought to himself, 'That man was truthful.' The king then hand-wrote a letter and gave it to the companion. The king never wrote anything unless he wanted to give someone a prize or gift.
But this letter was written to one of his administrators and contained the following message: 'When the bearer of this letter comes to you, slaughter him and skin him. Then fill his skin with straw and send him back to me.'
Later, the envious man met the companion of the king on his way and asked, 'What is this letter?'
The companion of the king replied, 'The king has given me a gift.'
The envious man asked, 'Would you give it to me.'
The companion of the king said, 'It's yours.'
The envious man took it and went to the administrator. The administrator said to him, 'This letter is a command from the king to slaughter you and skin you.'
The envious man announced, 'This letter is not mine. I beseech you in the Name of Allah to check with the king before you do anything.'
The administrator informed him that there would be no changes to what the king had written. Then he slaughtered him, skinned him, filled his skin with straw, and sent him back to the king.
In the meantime, the companion of the king returned to the king as usual. The king was shocked and demanded, 'What happened to the letter?'
Companion of the king said, 'So-and-so met me and asked me for it, so I gave it to him.'
The king then challenged, 'Have you said that I have a bad smell?'
The companion of the king rebutted, 'No!'
So the king asked, 'Then why did you place your hand over your mouth?'
The companion of the king answered, 'So-and-so provided me with food that had much garlic in it and I hated that you might smell it.'
The king declared, 'You are truthful. The evil of the evildoer is sufficient for him.'
Noble Qur'an says: "Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is your Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His Servants." (41:46)

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Zakaath, - Dought & clear, - Is there any zakaah on my advertising business?

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I have a business that produces personal invitations and commercial advertisements. I have been working in this field for nearly 10 years. Please note that it belongs to me and I have no set income per day or per month or per year. In other words, I work in this business without being able to define the monthly income, because it is freelance work. Even the departments that specialise in collecting zakaah from neighbouring commercial businesses cannot work out the monthly and annual income.
My question is:
Do I have to pay a particular rate of zakaah on this business? Please note that my capital consists of a computer and a large printer for printing advertisements. The basis of the work is physical effort and no more. If I have to pay a particular rate of zakaah for one year, how much is it or how can I work it out?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no zakaah on tools, equipment and machines in the business so long as they are not meant for sale; rather zakaah is due on fees earned by means of them, if they reach the minimum threshold (nisaab) and one hijri year has passed since that was acquired.
Al-Bahooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said inKashshaaf al-Qinaa‘(2/244): There is no zakaah on the tools of a craftsman, display materials used by traders, or the glass bottles used by spice merchants, grocers, and sellers of olive oil or honey, unless he intends to sell the bottles with their contents, in which case zakaah must be paid on both because these are trade goods. End quote.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
Tools used for work such as machines and other equipment are not subject to zakaah. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 9/362
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Items that are prepared for use are not subject to zakaah, machines and so on. If they are prepared for use then there is no zakaah on them. The basic principle is that that which is prepared for sale is that which is subject to zakaah; that which is used as a tool in one’s work is not subject to zakaah. End quote fromFataawa Ibn Baaz, 14/184
Based on that:
You do not have to pay any zakaah for the equipment that you have, such as the computer, printer and other regular tools of your work. Rather zakaah is due on that which you sell, such as the paper on which the advertisements are printed and the ink used.
So at the end of the year you have to work out what you have of paper and ink, and add to that what you have of cash. If all of that reaches the minimum threshold (nisaab), which is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver, then you have to pay zakaah at a rate of 2.5%.
And Allah knows best.

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Zakaath, - Dought & clear, - Each partner must pay zakaah on his share of theprofits from mudaarabah (partnership)

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He gave me seven thousand riyals four years ago, to buy and sell halaal items, and each year the profits are to be shared out. Now (the profits) have reached sixteen thousand riyals, and we have not paid zakaah for the past four years.
I hope that the picture is clear. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Zakaah is one of the pillars of Islam and one of the most important duties and obligations in Islam. What the Muslim is required to do is hasten to give it when it becomes obligatory for him, and it is not permissible to neglect to pay it.
Zakaah cannot be waived by the passage of time; even if many years have passed without zakaah being paid, it is a debt that is owed and it is obligatory to pay it.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Majmoo‘, 5/302:
Even if many years have passed, and he did not pay zakaah on it, he must pay zakaah for every year. End quote.
It says inal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 23/289:
If many years have passed during which one who is obliged to pay zakaah did not pay it, and the conditions of it being obligatory are met in this case, nothing of it is waived, according to scholarly consensus, and it is obligatory for him to pay zakaah for all those years that passed in which he did not pay zakaah on it. End quote.
Secondly:
Zakaah is due on trade goods according to the majority of scholars. The evidence for that has been discussed in the answer to question no. 130487
The way to work out the zakaah on trade goods is to work out the value of the goods at the end of the zakaah year, then pay zakaah on that at a rate of one quarter of ten per cent (2.5%).
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said inal-Mughni, 4/249:
Whoever possesses trade goods and one year has passed since he acquired (the money with which he brought them), and they reach the nisaab (minimum threshold), should work out their value at the end of the zakaah year, and whatever the value is, he should pay zakaah on it at a rate of one quarter of ten per cent (2.5%).
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
The proper way is to work out the value of what he has of trade goods upon the completion of the zakaah year, based on the value of those goods at the time when zakaah became due, regardless of the price for which the goods were bought. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 9/319
The profit is to be added to the original value, then zakaah is to be paid on the total.
It says inal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 22/86:
The profit made on the goods during the year is to be added to the original value for the purpose of working out the zakaah. For example, if a person buys trade goods in the month of Muharram for two hundred dirhams, then the value rises to three hundred dirhams before the end of the zakaah year, even for a moment, he should pay zakaah on the total value at the end of the zakaah year. End quote.
This is for the owner of the wealth: he should pay zakaah on the original amount (his capital) in addition to his share of the profits every year.
With regard to the partner (in the mudaarabah partnership, i.e., the one who is contributing his efforts in investing the wealth), there is a difference of opinion among the scholars as to whether he has to pay zakaah on his share of the profits if they have not yet been divided – as in the case asked about here. The view favoured by a number of our contemporary scholars is that he does have to pay zakaah on his share of the profits (even if they have not been divided).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is a difference of opinion as to whether zakaah must be paid on the mudaarib’s (partner’s) share of the profits or not. The correct view is that if one year has passed and the profits have not been divided, he still has to pay zakaah, because it is profit on wealth that is subject to zakaah, so he has to pay zakaah on it. And because this is what appears to have been people’s practice from the time of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) until the present day: when zakaah becomes due on wealth (capital), it must be paid on both the capital and the profit. End quote.
Sharh al-Kaafi, 3/121
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is zakaah due on the share of the mudaarib (partner) before the profits are shared out if it reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold)?
He replied:
The mudaarabah partnership means that you give a person your wealth to do trade with it. If you give him twenty thousand, for example, and he uses it to buy goods on the basis that he will have half of the profits and will return your capital to you, then after one year the twenty thousand has become thirty thousand with the profits, then the share of the partner or worker is five thousand and the share of the owner of the money is five thousand, and the capital is twenty thousand.
What is subject to zakaah? The entire amount of thirty thousand is subject to zakaah, and zakaah must be paid on all of it, on the profit and on the capital. This is what mudaarabah is and this is how to pay zakaah on it. End quote.
Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen, 50/8
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
I have some money that I left with a friend of mine to do trade with it; who should pay the zakaah – him or me? Should I pay zakaah on the capital only or on the profit too?
He replied:
You should pay zakaah on your share of the profit, if it reaches a nisaab (minimum threshold). The owner of the capital should pay zakaah on it and on his share of the profits, even if it is little, because it belongs to the capital. End quote.
Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan, 87/1-2
Based on this, you have to work out the profits that are additional to the capital of every year, then the owner of the capital has to pay zakaah on the capital and on his share of the profits, and you have to pay zakaah on your share of the profits for the past years.
Note: the zakaah year for trade goods does not begin from the date the trade goods were bought; rather it is based on the zakaah year for the cash with which the trade goods were bought.
And Allah knows best.

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Zakaath, - Dought & clear, - Should he pay zakaah on shares that were given to him by the company and over which he has no control?

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I live in UK. My husband works for a company, which provides raw materials to other companies for making soaps, shampoos, cosmetics etc. For 3 years, he buys some company shares every month. The number of shares is doubled by the company for its employees.
Few days ago, when I was browsing your website, I came to know that we’ve to pay zakaah on shares. We didn’t know that before.
Now I’ve some questions:
1. My husband can sell only the shares he bought with his money. The company shares can be sold only after the completion of 5 years (maturity period). Even then only the shares of first month will be mature. More shares will get matured each month. If he sells his shares now, the company shares given with those shares will be taken back from him. So, he doesn’t want to sell them now. My question is, Does he still has to give zakaah on these shares?
2. Second question is, What is the nisaab of shares?
3. Third, he also has to pay tax and national insurance on these shares when he sells them. Does he have to pay zakaah only on profit?
4. If we don’t have money now, can we pay it next year?
5. Do we’ve to pay for all 3 years?
6. The shares are in our joint name but only my husband deals with them, Who has the responsibility to pay zakaah?
I’ll be really grateful, if you can answer me in detail, I am really concerned about the issue. I don’t want any haraam money in my home
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
It is obligatory to pay zakaah on shares if the owner intends to sell them and they reached the nisaab (minimum threshold). He should work out their value each year, i.e., find out their market value, and pay one quarter of one tenth (2.5%) of their value.
The nisaab is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver or 85 grams of gold. As silver is of lesser value, the nisaab should be worked out on the basis of silver, so as to give the poor their fair share.
So if a person owns shares the value of which is equal to the value of 595 grams of silver, then he owns the minimum amount.
Secondly:
If a person acquires shares with the intention of benefiting from their dividends and profits, and he does not intend to sell them, then he does not have to pay zakaah on the share itself; rather he has to pay zakaah on the dividends, if he has taken possession of them and one zakaah year has passed; he should pay one quarter of one tenth, or 2.5%, (of the dividend).
Thirdly:
If the person does not have complete ownership of the shares, or he is not allowed to dispose of them, like the shares which the company has given to your husband, then he should pay zakaah once when selling them or taking back their value, or when obtaining full possession of them by completing five years of work in that company.
Fourthly:
Zakaah is obligatory upon the owner; if you have shares then you must pay zakaah on them, and you are responsible for that, but the husband may voluntarily pay zakaah on behalf of his wife.
Fifthly:
The basic principle is that taxes cannot take the place of zakaah; every time one full hijri year passes, you should work out the value of the shares and pay zakaah of one quarter of one tenth.
With regard to the double shares, if your husband will take possession of them after five years and we said that your husband should pay zakaah for one year when selling them, then he should pay zakaah on what remains of their price after paying taxes and National Insurance, because in fact he does not possess anything other than that.
Sixthly:
If a person owns shares and works out their value at the end of the year, but he does not have cash with which to pay, it is permissible for him to delay zakaah until he acquires cash or sells the shares, but he has to keep a record of that and write down what he owes of zakaah for the first year, the second year and so on. But it is better to hasten to pay zakaah and to be quick in doing good, and to make it easy for oneself, because if the amount of zakaah accumulates, he may feel reluctant to pay it.
We ask Allah to bless you and to protect you from all harm.
And Allah knows best.

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