What is the ruling on the zakah of real estate if the intention of purchase was not specified?
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Question : The questioner asks: What about the zakah of real estate if the intention was not specified at the time of purchase? For investment, for agriculture, or for residence.
Answer : If a person has real estate that he utilizes and does not know whether he will use it for residence, for exploitation, or for trade, then there is no zakah on it. This is because one of the conditions for zakah on real estate is that one must have intended it for trade. As for when one has not intended it for trade, there is no zakah on it. However, he owes zakah on the rent if it reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it from the time of the contract.
Answer : If a person has real estate that he utilizes and does not know whether he will use it for residence, for exploitation, or for trade, then there is no zakah on it. This is because one of the conditions for zakah on real estate is that one must have intended it for trade. As for when one has not intended it for trade, there is no zakah on it. However, he owes zakah on the rent if it reaches the nisab and a lunar year has passed over it from the time of the contract.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 13 - 18 - دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام للعام 1407 هـ - الدرس الثالث عشر - الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين — youtube.com (1:24:14)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.