He lent money to some of his colleagues and bought shares in some companies – how should he pay zakaah?
Question I borrowed 260,000 riyals from al-Bank al-‘Arabi by means of tawarruq, on the basis that they would deduct 3752 riyals from my salary every month for 8 years, and the money would be deposited in my account. Then I bought a car, paid off my debts and lent money to some of my colleagues,…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The debt that you owe to the bank does not mean that your
duty to pay zakaah is waived, according to the most correct scholarly
opinion. This has been discussed in the answer to question no.
22426.
Secondly:
It is not right to take out a loan in order to invest in the
stock market, especially if the loan is large as in your case. Debt is a
great responsibility, so much so that if a martyr is killed in battle for
the sake of Allaah he will be rewarded for everything except debt. In the
answer to question no. 82011we have quoted the words of Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) warning against taking loans in
order to invest in stocks.
Thirdly:
Zakaah is due on that which you have lent to your colleagues,
if they still acknowledge the debt and they are paying it off as agreed. You
have to pay zakaah on this money every time one year passes from the time
when you took possession of the nisaab (minimum threshold of wealth at which
zakaah becomes due), but you have the choice between two things: either
paying zakaah on it every year, or delaying it until you get this money
back, then paying zakaah for all past years.
But if the debtor is in difficulty or taking a long time to
pay it back, then you do not have to pay zakaah until you get the money
back, then when you get it you have to count a new year from the time when
you get it. This has been discussed in the answer to question no.
50014.
Fourthly:
With regard to investing in property this comes under the
heading of trade goods, because these real estate companies buy land with
the aim of dealing in it.
So at the end of the year you have to work out the value of
your shares in this company and pay zakaah on them, one quarter of one
tenth.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said
concerning shares in land belonging to a real-estate company:
It seems that these shares are trade goods, because those who
buy shares in land intend to deal in it and earn money from it. Hence they
must pay zakaah on it every year, by working out their values and paying
zakaah accordingly. If a person has shares worth thirty thousand and at the
end of the year these shares are worth sixty thousand, then he must pay
zakaah on sixty thousand, and if at the end of the year the thirty thousand
is worth only ten thousand, then he only has to pay zakaah on ten thousand.
End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(18/226).
Fifthly:
With regard to the money that you have invested in the stock
market, if your intention when buying the shares was to deal in them – as
seems to be the case – then these shares are regarded as trade goods, so
when the year ends you must work out the value of the shares based on the
market value and pay zakaah on them. End quote.
But if you bought the shares to keep them and benefit from
their annual profits, then the way of paying zakaah in this case has been
explained in the answer to question no.
69912.
And Allaah knows best.
