Accumulating money for marriage and its necessities, and placing it in land: is it subject to zakah?
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Fatwa No. ( 20046 )
Q: A young man, twenty-nine years old, has been working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for about six years. He left his country seeking lawful sustenance in the vast land of Allah and lawful marriage. Allah has blessed him with a sum of money he accumulated from his monthly salary over the previous years of working in Saudi Arabia . This money is for his marriage, completing the construction of the apartment he will live in, furnishing it, wedding expenses, and other things. He owns nothing but this money. To avoid the suspicion of riba or assisting in it, he refused to deposit this amount in any bank in his country and instead bought a piece of land to preserve this amount until he is fully prepared for marriage, at which point he will sell it and take the proceeds. It has been two years and about three months since he bought this land. The questions are: 1- Is it obligatory to pay zakah on this land that he bought to preserve his money until he is prepared for marriage, which he will sell later ? 2- If he is obligated to pay zakah on this land, does he pay on the purchase price, the price at which he will sell the land, or the estimated market value of the land in its current state?
3- If he owns only his monthly salary from working in Saudi Arabia , does he also have to pay zakah on it? 4- If this young man spent a year or more after buying this land without working in his country and without a salary, is zakah also obligatory on this land for that year? 5- Is it permissible to pay the zakah to one of his brothers to help him with his marriage ? 6- Finally, is it permissible to pay the zakah in cash and in kind, such as food, clothing, blankets, bedding, and the like, or is it not?
A: This land that you bought, with the intention to sell it when you resolve to get married, is from the goods of trade; because of your resolve to sell it whenever your marriage affairs become easy. Accordingly, it is obligatory for you to appraise it when a lunar year has passed since you bought it and intended to sell it. Whatever its value reaches at the time of appraisal, you pay one-fifth of a tenth of its current value. And whenever another lunar year passes and it has not been sold, you appraise it at the completion of the year and pay one-fifth of a tenth of its estimated value that it reaches at the time of appraisal, whether its value is less than what you bought it for or more. You pay its zakah in cash from the type of currency you appraised it in, such as the known coins now, or gold or silver. This is the most expeditious way to clear the conscience and the most cautious and precise in estimating its value.
The fact that you own only your salary, or that you sat for a period of time without work, has no relation to the obligation of zakah on you, and that is not an excuse for dropping the zakah, for zakah is tied to the land itself which you intended to sell. It is permissible for you to pay the zakah of this land to one of your brothers if he is from the people of zakah, meaning if he is poor, you give him from the zakah because of his poverty and need. There is no harm in that; rather, paying it to a needy relative is more preferable and better than others; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 658Sahih (Darussalam) narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Imam Ahmad and al-Nasa'i , and this is the wording of al-Tirmidhi , and he said: It is a good, authentic hadith. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: A young man, twenty-nine years old, has been working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for about six years. He left his country seeking lawful sustenance in the vast land of Allah and lawful marriage. Allah has blessed him with a sum of money he accumulated from his monthly salary over the previous years of working in Saudi Arabia . This money is for his marriage, completing the construction of the apartment he will live in, furnishing it, wedding expenses, and other things. He owns nothing but this money. To avoid the suspicion of riba or assisting in it, he refused to deposit this amount in any bank in his country and instead bought a piece of land to preserve this amount until he is fully prepared for marriage, at which point he will sell it and take the proceeds. It has been two years and about three months since he bought this land. The questions are: 1- Is it obligatory to pay zakah on this land that he bought to preserve his money until he is prepared for marriage, which he will sell later ? 2- If he is obligated to pay zakah on this land, does he pay on the purchase price, the price at which he will sell the land, or the estimated market value of the land in its current state?
3- If he owns only his monthly salary from working in Saudi Arabia , does he also have to pay zakah on it? 4- If this young man spent a year or more after buying this land without working in his country and without a salary, is zakah also obligatory on this land for that year? 5- Is it permissible to pay the zakah to one of his brothers to help him with his marriage ? 6- Finally, is it permissible to pay the zakah in cash and in kind, such as food, clothing, blankets, bedding, and the like, or is it not?
A: This land that you bought, with the intention to sell it when you resolve to get married, is from the goods of trade; because of your resolve to sell it whenever your marriage affairs become easy. Accordingly, it is obligatory for you to appraise it when a lunar year has passed since you bought it and intended to sell it. Whatever its value reaches at the time of appraisal, you pay one-fifth of a tenth of its current value. And whenever another lunar year passes and it has not been sold, you appraise it at the completion of the year and pay one-fifth of a tenth of its estimated value that it reaches at the time of appraisal, whether its value is less than what you bought it for or more. You pay its zakah in cash from the type of currency you appraised it in, such as the known coins now, or gold or silver. This is the most expeditious way to clear the conscience and the most cautious and precise in estimating its value.
The fact that you own only your salary, or that you sat for a period of time without work, has no relation to the obligation of zakah on you, and that is not an excuse for dropping the zakah, for zakah is tied to the land itself which you intended to sell. It is permissible for you to pay the zakah of this land to one of your brothers if he is from the people of zakah, meaning if he is poor, you give him from the zakah because of his poverty and need. There is no harm in that; rather, paying it to a needy relative is more preferable and better than others; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Charity given to the needy is (counted as) charity, and if it is given to relatives it is (counted as) two: charity and nurturing (the ties of kinship).
الصدقة على المسكين صدقة، وهي على ذي الرحم ثنتان: صدقة وصلة
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.