Zakah on money in the possession of another, where the owner intended it as a gift and the possessor intended it as a loan
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Fatwa number ( 14421 )
Seven years ago, my husband built a house, so I gave him my entire salary to help him. I did not intend it to be a debt at all; rather, he used to write down everything he took from me. His intention was to return the money to me when his financial situation improved, without my knowledge, because he fears Allah. After five years, he informed me that he would return the money he had taken from me, so I intended it to be a debt two years ago.
Only , and now he has returned the money to me, approximately. The question: When do I pay the zakah, and how much, and for how many years? Is it from the time I gave him the money, knowing that I did not intend it to be a debt for seven years, but only for two years?
A: You must pay zakah on it for all the previous years; because your husband did not accept it as help or a gift, but took it as a loan. So when he returned it to you, you must pay its zakah. You pay one quarter of a tenth, which is 2.5% of the money, for each year. Zakah purifies the wealth and the one who pays it; as Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:103] . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Seven years ago, my husband built a house, so I gave him my entire salary to help him. I did not intend it to be a debt at all; rather, he used to write down everything he took from me. His intention was to return the money to me when his financial situation improved, without my knowledge, because he fears Allah. After five years, he informed me that he would return the money he had taken from me, so I intended it to be a debt two years ago.
Only , and now he has returned the money to me, approximately. The question: When do I pay the zakah, and how much, and for how many years? Is it from the time I gave him the money, knowing that I did not intend it to be a debt for seven years, but only for two years?
A: You must pay zakah on it for all the previous years; because your husband did not accept it as help or a gift, but took it as a loan. So when he returned it to you, you must pay its zakah. You pay one quarter of a tenth, which is 2.5% of the money, for each year. Zakah purifies the wealth and the one who pays it; as Allah the Exalted said:
Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase
خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.