Zakah is obligatory even if the farmer is in debt
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Fatwa number ( 2956 )
Q: We are farmers who differ regarding the payment of zakah on our agricultural produce of
wheat and barley. Some say that we are unable to extract the zakah, while others say that we owe no zakah, because the farmers are burdened with a debt to the bank ranging between 40,000 (forty thousand) and 80,000 (eighty thousand). Please benefit us in writing, may Allah have mercy on you, as most of the farmers deny the radio and listening to it, and they ask you to benefit them in a message. They asked me to write this message to you on their behalf. May Allah be the Guide and the Successor.
A: Zakah is obligatory on the agricultural produce of wheat, barley, dates, and the like of grains and fruits when it reaches the nisab, even if the owner of this produce is in debt, or if the land on which it was planted is mortgaged; due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:141] , and the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 640Sahih (Darussalam) . We ask Allah to help you in paying off your debt and to make your affairs easy. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: We are farmers who differ regarding the payment of zakah on our agricultural produce of
wheat and barley. Some say that we are unable to extract the zakah, while others say that we owe no zakah, because the farmers are burdened with a debt to the bank ranging between 40,000 (forty thousand) and 80,000 (eighty thousand). Please benefit us in writing, may Allah have mercy on you, as most of the farmers deny the radio and listening to it, and they ask you to benefit them in a message. They asked me to write this message to you on their behalf. May Allah be the Guide and the Successor.
A: Zakah is obligatory on the agricultural produce of wheat, barley, dates, and the like of grains and fruits when it reaches the nisab, even if the owner of this produce is in debt, or if the land on which it was planted is mortgaged; due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest
وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِthe Ushr of what was watered by the heavens and steams, or through natural channels, and half of the Ushr for what is watered by irrigation.
فيما سقت السماء والعيون أو كان عثريًّا العشر، وفيما سقي بالنضح نصف العشر
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.